W.W. ‘Bill’ Philip, Columbia Bank Founder, Dies at 99
Aug 25, 2026, 5:12 PM
425 Business
Originally published on 425 Business.
W.W. “Bill” Philip, who co-founded Columbia Bank and was a founding father of the University of Washington Tacoma, has died, according to the bank.
He was 99. No further details were available late this afternoon.
“Bill Philip was a visionary leader who believed deeply in the power of community,” Clint Stein, CEO of Columbia Bank and its Tacoma-based parent company, Columbia Banking System Inc., said in a statement emailed to our sister publication, South Sound Business. “His leadership helped establish Columbia Bank as a relationship-focused institution, while his civic contributions helped shape the future of Tacoma and the broader region. Columbia’s business model remains deeply rooted in Bill’s operating philosophy and values. The impact of his service, generosity, and commitment to others will be felt for generations.”
Before Columbia, Philip was CEO of Puget Sound National Bank and among executives, after its sale to KeyBank in 1993, who founded Columbia. He was CEO of Columbia through 1999. Another former Puget Sound executive he recruited to Columbia was Melanie Dressel, who later followed Philip as CEO at Columbia. She died in 2017. Hadley Robbins replaced Dressel and after he retired, Stein took over in 2020.
The bank has grown significantly over the years. It has more than 350 branches and 5,000-plus employees with offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington. Columbia Banking System reported $65.4 billion in assets as of June 30.
At UWT, which opened in 1990, William W. Philip Hall, built in 2007 at 1918 Commerce St., is named after him. Columbia Banking System held its annual shareholders meeting there in 2010.
University of Washington Libraries, University of Washington Tacoma Library, has an oral history with Philip on UWT’s founding on its website.
