William "Hootie" Johnson
| William "Hootie" Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
William Woodward Johnson February 16, 1931 Augusta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | July 14, 2017 (aged 86) Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of South Carolina |
| Occupation | businessman, banker |
| Known for | Former chairman of the Bank of America executive committee, Augusta National Golf Club |
William Woodward "Hootie" Johnson (February 16, 1931 – July 14, 2017) was the chairman of the executive committee at Bank of America, a member of the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame, and a chairman of Augusta National Golf Club.
Johnson was born to Dewey H. and Mabel (née Woodward) Johnson, in 1931 at Augusta, Georgia and grew up in Greenwood, South Carolina, attending Greenwood High School. He attended the University of South Carolina on a football scholarship.
Johnson was married to Pierrine Johnson and had four daughters, ten grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. He died of congestive heart failure on July 14, 2017 at the age of 86.
After graduating, Johnson returned home and worked with his father at the Bank of Greenwood, which eventually evolved into the State Bank and Trust Company, and subsequently was renamed Bankers Trust of South Carolina in 1969. By 1965, Johnson had assumed control of the bank, and under his leadership, Bankers Trust of South Carolina rose from obscurity to become a high-performance, widely respected bank. Johnson served as chairman of the executive committee at Bank of America, and also a director of the company. He also served on the boards of Duke Power, Liberty Corporation, Alltel and Stephens, Inc.
As former chairman and current "Chairman Emeritus" of Augusta National Golf Club, Johnson held the chairmanship from 1998–2006 and directed two significant overhauls of the golf course, allowed 18-hole network television coverage of the tournament for the first time, and made significant changes in Masters qualifying procedures. He was succeeded by Billy Payne.
Johnson was widely known for a disagreement beginning in 2002 with Martha Burk, then chairwoman of the Washington-based National Council of Women's Organizations, over admission of female members to Augusta National. Burk contended that hosting the Masters Tournament at a male-only club, constituted sexism because 15% of the club's membership were CEO's, many of them Fortune 500 CEO's. Johnson characterized Burk's approach as "offensive and coercive", and despite efforts to conflate the issue with sexism and civil rights, Johnson maintained the issue had to do with the rights of any private club.
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