Power Center

Forget the politicians in Raleigh. The most powerful person in North Carolina is Bill Johnson.
 
Under the Duke-Progress merger, Johnson will be CEO of the new company – one of the biggest utilities in the nation and a corporation on the scale of ExxonMobil.
 
He will be a powerful force not just in the energy industry here and nationally, but in all things that affect North Carolina’s future.
 
And with his power and position come an obligation and a burden to make the state a better place to live and work. 
 
In writing the Jim Hunt book, I came to see how much of North Carolina’s progress the last 50 years happened because of business leaders – people like Hugh McColl, Bill Lee, Sherwood Smith, Ed Crutchfield, John Medlin and Bert Bennett.
 
They built great companies, and they helped build a great state.
 
Johnson is up to the tradition and the challenge. Consider: 
  • He played offensive line for Joe Paterno at Penn State
  • A few years ago, he lost more than 120 pounds through a discipline of diet and exercise. And he kept the weight off. 
  • Progress didn’t miss a step when his predecessor as CEO died suddenly. 
  • After the Duke-Progress merger, the CEO of the smaller company will run the bigger company.
 
This is not a man to be underestimated.
 

 

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Gary Pearce

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Power Center

Forget the politicians in Raleigh. The most powerful person in North Carolina is Bill Johnson.
 
Under the Duke-Progress merger, Johnson will be CEO of the new company – one of the biggest utilities in the nation and a corporation on the scale of ExxonMobil.
 
He will be a powerful force not just in the energy industry here and nationally, but in all things that affect North Carolina’s future.
 
And with his power and position come an obligation and a burden to make the state a better place to live and work. 
 
In writing the Jim Hunt book, I came to see how much of North Carolina’s progress the last 50 years happened because of business leaders – people like Hugh McColl, Bill Lee, Sherwood Smith, Ed Crutchfield, John Medlin and Bert Bennett.
 
They built great companies, and they helped build a great state.
 
Johnson is up to the tradition and the challenge. Consider: 
  • He played offensive line for Joe Paterno at Penn State
  • A few years ago, he lost more than 120 pounds through a discipline of diet and exercise. And he kept the weight off. 
  • Progress didn’t miss a step when his predecessor as CEO died suddenly. 
  • After the Duke-Progress merger, the CEO of the smaller company will run the bigger company.
 
This is not a man to be underestimated.
 

 

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Gary Pearce

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