Roy Spence

Co-founder and Chairman of GSD&M, a leading marketing communications and advertising company. Co-founder and CEO of The Purpose Institute, a consulting firm that helps people and organizations discover and live their purpose. A Gallup Senior Adviser and expert on Purpose. Co-author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book, “It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For: Why Every Extraordinary Business is Driven by Purpose.”

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.

45 years later, Roy and his partners are still together, still in Austin