The advertising business has always been a place where partnerships define legacies, and for nearly half a century, the name Gish, Sherwood & Friends has stood as a reminder that some of those partnerships take root far from Madison Avenue.
Hank Sherwood, who co-founded the Nashville agency known as GS&F in 1978, died on May 19 in Las Vegas, where he had been living near family. He was 85. The agency confirmed his death.
Mr. Sherwood, a graduate of the Ringling School of Art, began his career in Chicago, working at major agencies before relocating to Nashville in 1969 — a move that, in retrospect, positioned him at the early edge of what would become a significant regional advertising center. Nine years later, he and Dale Gish founded their agency, building a client roster that eventually included Kraft Foods, Campbell Soup Company, General Mills, Bridgestone, Camping World, Martha White Foods, V-8 Vegetable Juice and the State of Tennessee.
(Mr. Gish died in 2010, leaving Mr. Sherwood as the last surviving founding partner.)
"Hank is part of the foundation of this company in every sense," said Gregg Lipscomb, who leads the agency. "His creativity, character, and belief in relationships helped shape not only our agency, but generations of people who worked alongside him."
Mr. Lipscomb added that Mr. Sherwood "was a great friend, and his influence is still felt throughout GS&F today."
The agency, which has remained independent through the decades of consolidation that absorbed so many regional shops, continues to operate from Nashville — a city that Mr. Sherwood helped put on the advertising map long before it became fashionable to do so.
Original story published in MediaPost: "Obit: Hank Sherwood, Co-Founder Of Agency GS&F Dies At 85"