Hank Sherwood, co-founder of Nashville advertising agency GS&F, died on May 19 in Las Vegas, where he was living near family, the agency confirmed. He was 85.  

A graduate of the Ringling School of Art, Sherwood began his career in Chicago, working for major agencies before moving to Nashville in 1969. Sherwood co-founded Gish, Sherwood & Friends in 1978 with Dale Gish. (Gish died in 2010.)  

In 1998, the company was purchased by Jeff Lipscomb (current chairman of the board) and Roland Gibbons (current board member). A little more than a decade later, the new leaders shortened the name of the agency as it expanded its offering to include interactive media marketing, PR, and design.    

Over the course of his career, Sherwood helped shape campaigns for major national brands including Kraft Foods, Campbell Soup Company, General Mills, Bridgestone, Camping World, Martha White Foods, V-8 Vegetable Juice, the State of Tennessee and more.   

“Hank is part of the foundation of this company in every sense,” said Lipscomb. “His creativity, character, and belief in relationships helped shape not only our agency, but generations of people who worked alongside him. He was a great friend, and his influence is still felt throughout GS&F today.”   

“Hank was a dear friend and the funniest man anyone could ever meet,” noted Gibbons. “He was enormously talented and a gifted creative. He was adored by everyone, and he always kept us laughing with his endless wit.”