Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) has hired Ryan King as its Chief External Relations Officer, the cooperative announced in a report first published by WGNS Radio.

King, a former deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, starts Monday, Nov. 2. He will oversee MTE's government affairs, community relations and communications, including relationships with elected officials, government agencies and community organizations.

The hire matters locally because MTE provides electricity to Brentwood and surrounding cities including Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna and Lebanon. The cooperative serves more than 750,000 Tennesseans through 360,000-plus accounts across 11 Middle Tennessee counties.

MTE President and CEO Chris Jones said King's background spans government, electric cooperatives, agriculture and economic development. "He also understands Middle Tennessee and the people and communities we serve," Jones said.

Before his state government role, King served as vice president of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. There he worked on broadband expansion, infrastructure improvements and economic growth in rural communities. He also served as vice president of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, managing government affairs and policy at the local, state and federal levels.

King held earlier positions with the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative and Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation.

He is a Lebanon native who earned a degree in agricultural business from Middle Tennessee State University and a master's in agricultural leadership and communications from the University of Tennessee. He was active in the Wilson Central FFA chapter, earning both State and American FFA Degrees, and is a member of Leadership Tennessee Class XII.

King also chaired the 2025 Tennessee Governor's Prayer Breakfast and has served on the Tennessee 4-H Foundation Board of Directors.

King lives in Franklin. He and his wife, Amy, have two children.

MTE's subsidiary, United Communications, operates a fiber network spanning more than 6,600 route miles across 11 counties, providing high-speed internet and phone services.