Before joining Progress Energy in December 2001, McArthur was a member of North Carolina Governor Mike Easley's senior management team, handling major policy initiatives as well as media and legal affairs. He also directed Governor Easley's transition team after the election of 2000. For three years prior to joining Governor Easley, McArthur handled state government affairs in ten southeastern states for General Electric Company. He served as chief counsel in the NC Attorney General's office for four years, during which he supervised utility, consumer, health care, and environmental protection issues. McArthur previously was a partner at Hunton & Williams, a national law firm with offices in Raleigh. A 1977 graduate of Davidson College, he earned his law degree at the University of South Carolina in 1981.