Philip Reese was born in Louisville, KY and grew up in Wilmington, DE. He attended Emory University in Atlanta, where he earned a BA in History. He earned his JD and MBA degrees after serving 6 years in the Army during the Vietnam War. He became a tax attorney for KPMG, followed by a banking career at SunTrust and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company. He left banking to become a financial officer at Conectiv, leaving in 2003. He then went on to become Chairman of the Delaware Public Employees’ Pension System. He has served on a number of for-profit and not-for-profit boards, many of which he chaired, including the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia and Stratford Hall Plantation.