Ralph Philip Hanes Jr. (February 25, 1926 – January 16, 2011), was an American businessman, conservationist, and patron of the arts.

The Hanes family were involved as patrons to the local community when Phil was a child, with his father financing the restoration of Old Salem.

The program saw Hanes working all the floor-level positions within the Springs' factories, running every machine in the plant, working all three shifts, and living in towns such as Lancaster, South Carolina which according to Hanes "...had one grocery store, one filling station, one drugstore, and one movie house.

During his tenure as CEO, he oversaw the company's push for desegregation, successfully integrating the facilities for both white and African-American workers.

In 1976, at the age of fifty, Hanes resigned from his position, giving the role to his Nephew and the President of the company at the time, though he remained invested in the business as a chairman of the board and the second largest stockholder.

[4] In 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Hanes to the National Endowment for the Arts council, with the likes of John Steinbeck, Duke Ellington, and Harper Lee.

His ashes have been installed in the sculpture "Conversations" on the campus of University of North Carolina School of the Arts.