Hugh T. McDonald was appointed Secretary of Commerce of Arkansas by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders in 2023.

He served as president and chief executive officer of Entergy Arkansas, Inc. from 2000until his retirement in 2016. Entergy Arkansas is the largest electric utility in the state, serving over 700,000 customers with annual revenues exceeding $2 billion.

Hugh joined Entergy in 1982 as an engineer at Waterford 3 nuclear generating plant in Louisiana. He held various management positions in the distribution, transmission, customer service, retail marketing and regulatory business functions in Louisiana,Mississippi, Texas and Arkansas.

Prior to working for Entergy, Hugh was employed by Black and Veatch Consulting Engineers in Overland Park, Kansas.

Hugh is a past Board member of the United States Chamber of Commerce, the University of Arkansas Sam Walton College of Business Advisory Board and the University of Arkansas Little Rock College of Business Advisory Council. He also served as past Board Chairs of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, Fifty for the Future, the Arkansas Research Alliance, the Arkansas Career Education and Workforce Development Board, the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Board of Advisors and the Nature Conservancy of Arkansas.

Hugh currently serves on the board of Trustees of The Nature Conservancy of Arkansas and the North Dakota State University Foundation. Hugh holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management from NorthDakota State University, 1980; and earned an MBA from the University of New Orleans in 1987.

Hugh and his wife, Michelle, have 3 children.