Barnett joins in the new position of direct sales list broking director, responsible for overseeing the high-volume direct sales division.
The new unit sits alongside Swetenham's existing broking operations, its UK list broking division, headed up by James Taylor, and its international list rental management arm, led by Savinder Lefevre.
Amaya Tasker, data division managing director at Swetenhams, said: "The new division reflects a 40% growth in business for Swetenhams achieved over a very short time, which is very good news given the downturn currently experienced across the direct marketing industry."
At Acxiom, Barnett was senior business development manager, looking after blue-chip clients in the financial and mail order sectors. He joined Acxiom in November 2002 from Experian where he was senior sales manager.
Barnett started his career in direct marketing with Thompson Directories in 1995 as field sales executive. He then moved to ICD, which was bought by Experian.
Tasker said: "Paul Barnett comes with a wealth of experience and a great deal of business clout that we are confident will enable us to continue on our growth trajectory."
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