Brian Sherman AM (1943–2022) was a leading philanthropist, company director and animal rights activist. Born in South Africa, he came to Australia with his family in 1976 and in 1981 founded Equitilink, which he subsequently built into one of the largest independent funds management groups in Australia. Meanwhile, with his wife Dr Gene Sherman AM, he became a major collector and supporter of the arts, serving as a director of Sherman Galleries (founded in 1986) and the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation. Sherman was a director of Network Ten from 1994 to 2007, and he was chair of finance and a board member of the Sydney Organising Committee for the 2000 Olympic Games. In 2004, with his daughter Ondine, he co-founded the animal rights organisation Voiceless, of which he was joint managing director. President of the Australian Museum Trust from 2001 to 2009, he contributed $1 million to the Museum’s redevelopment strategy, Project Discover, and in 2022 he received the Australian Museum Research Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contribution to animal welfare and the advancement of scientific research, and of his lifetime support of the Museum. He was deeply interested and involved in stem-cell therapy initiatives, funding a top-level annual think tank of leading researchers worldwide. Sherman was also an important contributor to the Jewish community through his work as a director of the Sherman Centre for Culture and Ideas and the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council. In 2014, he and Gene Sherman were jointly awarded the B'nai B'rith Gold Medal for their outstanding contributions to community service, social justice, philanthropy and anti-discrimination. Named a Member of the Order of Australia in 2004, Sherman held an honorary doctorate from the University of Technology, Sydney, and was the author of two memoirs: The Lives of Brian (2018); and Walking Through Honey: My Journey with Parkinson's Disease (2022), which was published several months before his death at age 79.
