Charlie Giffen, a business recruitment professional, has been appointed director of business development for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. He will join the Chamber on July 17.
Mr. Giffen comes to the Chamber from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development where he has served as director of project management in the Business Development Division since 2002.
"In his current job, Charlie has developed important contacts and relationships with businesses and site selection consultants that will prove useful to Chattanooga and Hamilton County," said Trevor Hamilton, Chamber vice president for economic development. "He is an experienced professional in the fields of business recruitment and prospect management."
Mr. Giffen’s primary responsibility will be recruiting companies to the Chattanooga area, including tenants for Enterprise South Industrial Park. The Chamber has been charged with marketing the 1,600-acre site that is co-owned by the City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County.
During his tenure with the state Mr. Giffen has managed and located new investment projects and existing industry expansions with investments totaling over $300 million and new jobs totaling over 3,100 for Tennessee. He currently manages projects with a capital investment in excess of $1 billion and over 3,500 jobs.
Mr. Giffen served as director of economic development for Smyrna, TN from 1995-1998. He created the town’s first economic development board, conducted a special census increasing state-shared revenue dollars by $2.3 million and secured over $7 million in state funding.
A native of Chattanooga, Mr. Giffen received a B.S. degree from UTC.