Chris Jones is Middle Tennessee Electric’s President and just the fifth CEO in the cooperative’s 90-year history.  A 27-year veteran of MTE, he is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he earned his degree in communications.

During his tenure as CEO, Jones has navigated the organization through several severe weather events, significant upgrades in technology, improvements in member satisfaction to best-in-class levels, and a merger with the Murfreesboro Electric Department. Chris helped spearhead efforts to persuade the State of Tennessee to allow electric cooperatives to provide broadband services to rural areas. In 2018, MTE acquired United Communications to expand broadband in underserved Middle Tennessee counties.

Chris is active in Middle Tennessee, serving MTE members and the community through several avenues. He is past chair of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and current chair of Destination Rutherford, and he is also past chair of the Williamson County Chamber of Commerce. He is a board member of United Communications, the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, and the Middle Tennessee Industrial Development Association.

In 2022, Chris received the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s J.C. Brown CEO Communication Leadership Award, which recognizes an electric cooperative or public power district CEO/general manager committed to advancing communication. Chris has also been awarded the Pinnacle Award from Leadership Rutherford and the Business Person of the Year Award from the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce. He is a C-Suite Award honoree of the Nashville Business Journal, and in 2017, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus of Motlow State Community College. He is a deacon at his home church in Manchester.

Chris lives in Murfreesboro with his wife, Bonita, who is a retired teacher. They have two grown daughters, Cayln and Chrisln, and they have one grandchild with another on the way.