Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce President Bill Kilbride announced Tuesday the appointment of Sybil Topel as vice president of Communications, a key role as the chamber continues to focus on business recruitment, job creation and member initiatives.
Prior to joining the chamber, she led branding and digital communications strategy for more than five years for a Nashville-based architecture firm. Earlier in her career she worked with Dallas-based Spaeth Communications, providing communications training and consulting for FedEx, AIG, Alcan and several healthcare clients.
“We’re delighted to welcome Sybil to our team,” Mr. Kilbride said. “She brings fresh insight and extensive communications leadership experience to our community, as well as a lifelong commitment to continuous education and community service.”
“I’m delighted to join the chamber team that shares the great Chattanooga story,” said Ms. Topel, who completed her masters in fine arts degree in writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta this year. “Chattanooga’s visual arts and outdoor activities have drawn my family to the area many times for vacations and weekend trips.”
Devoted to community service, she has served as president of two professional organizations: CABLE, a Nashville-based business networking organization with more than 500 members, and the Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Nashville chapter. SMPS, a national organization, provides continuing education and certification for marketing professionals in the Architecture/Construction/Engineering fields.
She writes regularly for an international career blog based in Singapore, interviewing international executives from St. Louis, London, Hong Kong and Singapore. In August this year the Lillian E. Smith Center awarded her a writers’ residency at its Clayton, Ga., location.
She began her career as a reporter and editor for the wire service agency United Press International, after completing her undergraduate degree in Communications at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. While at UT-K, she spent two summers working and living in France and later studied international relations in Geneva, Switzerland through a Rotary Foundation scholarship.
Ms. Topel has relocated to Chattanooga and begins her work at the chamber immediately.