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2012 News Articles › NCBA Honors Progress Energy CEO William Johnson
NCBA Honors Progress Energy CEO William Johnson
Article Date: Thursday, January 26, 2012
Written By: Russell Rawlings
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| Honoree William Johnson receives a standing ovation. |
William Johnson, center, with Bill Friday and Dickson Phillips. |
The Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association, convening on Thursday, Jan. 26, at the N.C. Bar Center, honored William Johnson, chairman, president and CEO of Progress Energy, during a special recognition luncheon.
The event featured remarks by Johnson and a video interview of Sherwood Smith, former chairman and CEO of Carolina Power & Light (CP&L), conducted by NCBA Past President John Jernigan.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE VIDEO.
Johnson’s association with Smith dates back to 1992
William Johnson, left, with Martin Brinkley and John Jernigan. |
when he joined CP&L, which later became Progress Energy.
Johnson, according to biographical data provided by the Progress Energy website,
became chairman and CEO on October 12, 2007. He served as president and chief operating officer from January 2005 until October 2007. Previous roles with the company include group president for Energy Delivery, president and chief executive officer for Progress Energy Service Company, and general counsel and secretary for Progress Energy, Inc.
Upon completion of the proposed merger of Progress Energy and Duke Energy, Johnson will serve as president and CEO of the “largest regulated utility holding company in the United States.”
A graduate of Duke University and the University of North Carolina School of Law, Johnson previously practiced with Hunton & Williams in Raleigh and served as a law clerk to Judge J. Dickson Phillips Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Judge Phillips attended the recognition event, as did Bill Friday, who served as president of the consolidated UNC system from 1956-86, and Tom Ross who currently serves in that capacity.
Friday is a previous honoree at this event, which traditionally highlights the NCBA’s winter meeting.
Also honored previously were longtime Mecklenburg County District Attorney Peter Gilchrist; N.C. Sen. Dan Clodfelter; John G. Medlin Jr., who chaired the Commission on the Future of Courts and Justice in North Carolina; U.S. Rep. Howard Coble; N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr.; Superior Court Judge Howard Manning; AOC Director Ralph Walker and former ABA President A.P. Carlton.
NCBA President Martin Brinkley presided over the recognition event.