Leadership

Hugh McDonald, President & CEO, Entergy Arkansas

Hugh T. McDonald is president and chief executive officer of Entergy Arkansas, a position he has held since spring of 2000. He is responsible for Entergy Arkansas’ electric distribution system, customer service, economic development, regulatory affairs, and governmental affairs, as well as the company’s financial performance.

McDonald, who lives in Little Rock, has been with Entergy since 1982, when he was hired to work at Entergy’s Waterford 3 nuclear plant in Taft, La., near New Orleans. McDonald was later promoted to serve as executive assistant to the chairman of Louisiana Power & Light/New Orleans Public Service, Inc. (the predecessors of Entergy Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans), then led Entergy Louisiana’s Total Quality initiative. During Entergy’s 1994 merger with Gulf States Utilities, McDonald was a special projects director for the functional integration of the transmission, distribution and customer service organizations.

McDonald also served as a division manager for Entergy Mississippi in McComb.

He was promoted to serve as director -- regulatory affairs in Texas, after which he was promoted to vice president of Entergy Retail Operations prior to coming to Arkansas to accept his current position.

Hugh is a past board member of the United States Chamber of Commerce and current Board Chair of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Foundation Fund. He also serves on the Boards of the Little Rock Regional Chamber, Fifty for the Future, the Arkansas Arts Center, Sam Walton College of Business Advisory Board and the UALR College of Business Advisory Council.

McDonald holds a bachelor of science degree in construction management from North Dakota State University and earned an master of business administration degree from the University of New Orleans.

Updated 4/06