William (Bill) D. Johnson
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Progress Energy
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Bill Johnson is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Progress Energy, Inc. He became chairman and CEO on October 12, 2007. He served as president and chief operating officer from January 2005 until October 2007. Johnson has been with Progress Energy (previously CP&L) in a number of roles since 1992, including group president for Energy Delivery, president and chief executive officer for Progress Energy Service Company, and general counsel and secretary for Progress Energy, Inc.

Before joining Progress Energy, Johnson was a partner with the Raleigh office of Hunton & Williams, where he specialized in the representation of utilities. He previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Dickson Phillips Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Johnson serves in a number of volunteer and leadership roles with local and professional agencies. He graduated from Duke University summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in history, and received a law degree with high honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982.