Quick Facts on Roy Spence

1. Born in Brownwood, Texas in 1948
2. Taught by his parents that to succeed at anything in life he must somehow make a difference
3. Enrolls at UT Austin in 1967 with plans to study law; after his first pre-law class he chooses government instead
4. Meets four students at UT who would change his life – Judy Trabulsi, Tim McClure, and Steve and Bill Gurasich. Together they start an ad agency called GSD&M in 1971
5. Earns $85 a month with GSD&M initially, but the agency begins picking up a lot of business doing political advertising
6. GSD&M wins the Southwest Airlines account in 1977. Helps turn the little Texas start-up airline company into the fourth largest U.S. air carrier and most consistently profitable company in the history of aviation
7. GSD&M creates the landmark “Don’t Mess with Texas” ad campaign in 1985 that reduces litter in Texas by 76 percent
8. Company becomes widely regarded for its purpose-based branding, based on the premise that consumers look at companies as much for what they stand for as for what they sell. Signs on Wal-Mart, Texas Tourism, Texas Lottery, SBC, Brinker International, Fannie Mae, U.S. Olympic Committee, Krispy Kreme, Dreamworks, Dial, and more
9. Five-person shop becomes a 650-person business with annual revenues of $1.5 billion
10. Roy receives the 2004 Distinguished Alumnus Award from The University of Texas