Kerry Graham earned his BA degree at Vanderbilt University and was a professional stage, film and commercial actor before beginning an advertising career that has taken him from junior copywriter to agency CEO; from Atlanta to Boston, New York and South Carolina; and finally back to Nashville.  

Kerry worked at several “Mad Men” ad agencies, including J. Walter Thompson and Hill Holliday, and his creative work has won nearly every national and international industry award possible - One Show, CLIOs, British Design and Art Direction, Communication Arts, Graphis, EFFIEs and National ADDYs. Kerry was also selected “Copywriter of the Year” four times in three different cities, and has written a novel called “Pitching the God Account” about a fictional ad agency in Nashville.

In 1993, Kerry founded his own agency, Campaign, Inc., which became agency of record for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta and featured work for Tommy Hilfiger, Jack Nicklaus, Turner Broadcasting and The Weather Channel. After selling his company to The Buntin Group in 1997, Kerry moved to Nashville to become that agency’s Vice Chairman/Chief Creative Officer. In 2007, Kerry was named President of BOHAN Advertising, and after several years of phenomenal growth he was named CEO. BOHAN went on to win the coveted “Southeast Small Agency of the Year” and “Best Agency Culture/Silver” awards from Ad Age, as well as “2015 National Healthcare Agency of the Year” from Modern Healthcare magazine.

A pioneer of unique organizational models and creative approaches to marketing throughout his career, Kerry began experimenting with new agency structures for an under-served and under-marketed strata of savvy mid-sized clients in 2014. One model in particular which swaps marketing expertise and senior staff time for corporate equity and a share of revenue officially became The Brand Hotel, LLC in 2015. Today, The Brand Hotel has over 50 clients, several of which the agency has taken equity positions in.

In 2018, Kerry authored the “City on Fire” Amazon HQ2 pitch for Nashville, in concert with the Nashville Chamber, and branding work for the new Tennessee State Museum with Stones River Group and Governor Bill Haslam. Other projects include work for AJ Capital, DAOU Vineyards (Paso Robles, CA), Porte Italia painted furniture (Venice, Italy), Nashville Soccer Club, the former Prime Minister of Haiti, music artists, whiskey companies, investment banks, healthcare start-ups, and the We Are Nashville community initiative - which won more awards than any other campaign in Nashville history.

In the Nashville community, Kerry has served as Board Chair for the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Chairman of the Tennessee Repertory Theater Board, Marketing Chair for the Adventure Science Center, and director for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Hands On Nashville, Cheekwood, Ensworth School and Wake Forest University’s Schools of Business. He was a member of Leadership Nashville’s Class of 2009.

“Unexpected delight” is his guiding philosophy. “Respecting and rewarding the customer” is his key marketing principle. And “building the brand bank” is the long-term driving concept behind every project Don has touched in his career.

After five years as a scholarship receiver for the Washington State Cougars, Don began his colorful marketing career at famed ad agency J. Walter Thompson in Chicago and San Francisco, managing accounts that included 7-Up and Activision. He then moved client-side to join a start-up Silicon Valley gaming company called Electronic Arts (EA), where he founded and brand-managed the wildly successful EA SPORTS brand as head of marketing and innovation from 1987 until 2006 (“It’s in the game”). For three of those years, Don moved to London and directed all marketing activity for the company’s European gaming products (sports and non-sports) as VP of Marketing/EA Europe. During Don’s tenure, EA SPORTS grew from $0 - $1 billion in worldwide sales, and became a #1 global brand in the online gaming industry.

Don also co-founded Philadelphia’s Youngblood Agency, working on Reebok, Hasbro, Warrior/Brine Lacrosse, the Washington Capitols, 2k Sports, Tetris, and the Philadelphia Eagles. In 2011, he moved to Nashville to serve as Chief Marketing Officer for two digital sports marketing start-up ventures prior to joining The Brand Hotel as co-proprietor.

Some of Don’s most colorful stats include being the author and recipient of the only known “corporate surfing clause” in a Silicon Valley employment contract (1987-2006); sailing from Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands on a 50' yacht in early 70's; and not wearing socks since 1981.

His personal passion for wine and Napa Valley led him to create his own wine brand, Petites Maisons. And he developed the first-ever Business of Wine curriculum at Washington State, where he continues to consult for the Viticulture & Enology and Hospitality departments today.

Don received his MS degree from Northwestern’s esteemed Medill School of Journalism, and he and his wife Susan have two sons, Chase and Stenn, and live in Franklin, Tennessee.