Local technology company k12itc has hired Mick Fenley to be its new chief operation officer—the company’s first COO, in fact.

Fenley was the associate vice president of business solutions for Kansas City Southern Railway, and his background includes time as a director at YRC Freight and on the board of directors at Community America Credit Union.

Brad Sandt, the president and CEO of k12itc, said adding Fenley will help the fast-growing company to keep moving in the right direction.

“Over the last five years, k12itc has grown at an impressive rate,” Sandt said. “To maintain and expand on this growth, we need a proven leader to create and manage processes to allow us to effectively scale our company. Mick is that leader, and I know he will take our company to the next level.”

A past winner of the 25 Under 25® Award, k12itc provides outsourced, cloud-based IT services to K-12 schools. It’s one of the metro’s fastest-growing companies, and last year alone, it grew by 64 percent, expanding its reach to Oklahoma, Iowa and Nebraska.

“k12itc is a dynamic technology-based company, right here in Kansas City, with an undeniable entrepreneurial spirit,” said Fenley. “I’m excited to join this strong team and assist with delivering solid product offerings and services that enhance k12itc’s customer-oriented culture, which ultimately delivers solutions that benefit youth and schools across the U.S.”

Thinking Bigger Business Media featured k12itc in 2015. You can read that story here.