Bessant was most recently sales director at relationship marketing consultancy Information Arts, which he joined in April this year. He left just two months later following disagreements over a restructure of the business.
The appointment at Information Arts marked Bessant's return to the business-to-business sector after leaving Prospect Swetenhams in 2006.
Bessant has 10 years' experience of working in B2B data and information. Prior to Prospect Sweetenhams, he was managing director of Bisnode-owned market research publisher Key Note.
Bessant will lead the development of the business directory and also head up the List Locator brand, marketing 3.5m business records with coverage of the one-10 employee band, as well as the incorporated sector.
Bessant said: "Countyweb.com are already tele-verifying 140,000 records per annum as well as cleansing the database monthly and my brief is to further invest in data quality, bringing a premium quality brand to the incorporated market for perhaps the first time."
Countyweb.com launched in 1996 and is based in Leamington Spa.