Roy Spence Endowment

It was 1971, and four recent University of Texas graduates decided to start an advertising agency in Austin, Texas — then a funky little college town known primarily for hippies and armadillos. Roy Spence was one of them. He went down to the bank to borrow $5,000 and the loan officer asked, “What is your business plan?”
Roy was frozen and then finally said, “Well let’s see. We want to stay together, stay in Austin, make a difference and some money, too.” He got the loan.

Roy and his partners built GSD&M into a marketing, advertising, and idea machine. Memorable campaigns include flying with Herb Kelleher, founder of SWA, riding with Sam Walton, founder of WalMart, driving with BMW and the PGA TOUR, and creating compelling Public Service Awareness ads following Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, the Baton Rouge floods, and most recently Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Roy’s passion is entrepreneurship, which he refers to as “the miracle of America.”
Roy is also Co-Founder and CEO of The Purpose Institute and founder of the Promiseland Project.
Roy is a Gallup Senior Adviser as Gallup’s expert on Purpose and champion of Clifton’s Strengths Movement. He has been recognized by the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame, named “Adman of the Century” by Texas Monthly magazine, is a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin, made The University of Texas McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame, and is a board member of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation.