Middle Tennessee Electric has hired Ryan King to lead government relations and communications across its 11-county service area. The cooperative serves Williamson County, including the Spring Hill and Thompson's Station communities.

King, who most recently served as deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, will start as MTE's chief external relations officer on Monday, Nov. 2, as first reported by the Williamson Herald.

In the role, King will manage MTE's relationships with elected officials, government agencies and community organizations. He will also oversee the cooperative's public communications.

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.

King has deep roots in the electric cooperative world. He previously served as vice president of Tennessee Electric Cooperatives, the statewide association for the state's co-ops. In that role, he led efforts to expand broadband access, improve infrastructure and support economic growth in rural communities, according to the Herald. That broadband work connects to MTE's own subsidiary, United Communications, which operates a fiber network spanning more than 6,100 route miles across Middle Tennessee, according to MTE's website.

Before that, King served as vice president of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where he managed government affairs and policy work at the local, state and federal levels. Earlier in his career, he held positions with the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative and the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation.

A Lebanon native, King grew up in the agriculture industry and was active in the Wilson Central FFA chapter, earning both his State and American FFA Degrees. He holds a degree in agricultural business from Middle Tennessee State University and a master's degree in agricultural leadership and communications from the University of Tennessee.

King also serves on the board of directors of the Tennessee 4-H Foundation and is a member of Leadership Tennessee Class XII. He chaired the 2025 Tennessee Governor's Prayer Breakfast.

He lives in Franklin with his wife, Amy, and their two children.

MTE, the largest electric cooperative in the Tennessee Valley Authority region, serves more than 750,000 Tennesseans through 345,000-plus accounts.