Rhea County, Tennessee, businessman John Bamber is the new executive director of the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.
Bamber replaces former executive director Dennis Tumlin, who was selected to be the new chief customer officer for the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development in Nashville.
Bamber brings business, marketing and sales experience to the role, according to the council. Rhea County has been the home of John's family and his business for the last 15 years.
"We love the global perspective that John is able to bring to the table" added RETC Chairman Gary Louallen. "We've had a lot of success over the last five years and we're looking forward to having John onboard to help us get to the next level. His sales and marketing ability will help set this community apart."
Tumlin said that Rhea County has "a lot of momentum and John is the perfect person to lead us into the future and to ensure that our momentum continues."
Five Below to open at Hamilton Place
Five Below, which is dedicated to the "tween and teen" market, will open its first store in the Chattanooga area next week at The Shoppes at Hamilton Place.
The nearly 9,000-square-foot store will open at 2040 Hamilton Place Blvd., Suite 760, on Friday, and will offer deals throughout opening weekend, according to the shopping center.
The first 100 people in line for the store opening at 9 a.m. will get a mystery scratch-off ticket valued somewhere between $1 and $100. Shoppers can enjoy trivia and enter to win a $100 gift card raffle each weekend day. The first 300 to make a purchase Friday, Saturday and Sunday will receive a free cinch sack.
Five Below has $1.5 billion in annual sales with more than 800 stores in 36 states.
VW of America picks new VP of marketing
Volkswagen of America has named Saad Chehab as senior vice president of VW brand marketing.
Chehab will be responsible for setting and driving marketing for VW, including building on the momentum generated by "Drive Bigger," VW's new brand campaign. He'll report to Scott Keogh, the head of the VW Group in the United States.
Chehab has more than 26 years of automotive experience. He most recently led marketing and communications for Kia Motors America. He joined Kia from FCA Group where he ran global marketing for Maserati, after leading the Chrysler and Lancia brands.
Also, VW announced that Derrick Hatami, executive vice president of sales and marketing for the VW brand, is leaving the company, as is Jim Zabel, senior vice president of VW brand marketing.