XConnect, a renowned provider of world-class numbering intelligence solutions, has announced the appointment of Barbara Shankland as its new Global Account Director. Shankland's expertise will be crucial to supporting messaging and voice customers, particularly in tackling the increasingly important issues of fraud mitigation and number validation.

This role will see Shankland advise on optimising voice and messaging routing and enhancing fraud protection. Moreover, she will be instrumental in identifying and validating traffic insights.

Shankland brings with her two decades of experience in sales and account management, having previously held positions at Tyntec and Mitto. This deep understanding of the telecoms and tech industries will strengthen and drive XConnect’s worldwide growth into key markets, enhancing customer relationships in the process.

Commenting on the appointment, Tim Ward, VP Number Information Services at XConnect, said: “We are so pleased to have Barbara on board. With the rise of ever-evolving digital fraud schemes and industry compliance regulations, Barbara's role is more significant than ever. Her extensive knowledge of the telecoms industry and enthusiastic approach will support us in achieving our new goals, connecting with clients, and delivering a stand-out customer experience.”

Shankland will work closely with customers in her new role, enabling them to terminate voice and messaging traffic with confidence and ease. Having noticed industry trends and developments during her 16 years in the telecoms sector, she believes that this is the right moment to put her expertise to use in assisting those who need support with delivering effective communications.

She commented: “I'm delighted to be working for XConnect, who I see as one of the leading companies in the mobile intelligence space. My goal is to help new and existing customers find cost-effective solutions to accelerate their ambitions.”

This year, XConnect has focused on widening its value proposition to customers, both on a local and global scale. Besides this latest appointment, the company's recent partnership with Sekura.id has increased its product portfolio's range and assists customers in tackling complex identification and verification (ID&V) challenges.

XConnect, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Somos Inc., is a leading consolidator, maintainer, and provider of trusted telephone number intelligence to world-class telecommunication service providers. Through its global distributed hybrid cloud platform, it processes information from hundreds of different global datasets to aid its customers in solving routing, validation, and fraud challenges in real-time. Its Number Information Services are used for voice and messaging routing, fraud protection and to identify and validate insights, supporting the deployment and evolution of next-generation communications solutions such as VoLTE and RCS.