Alec Shankman Launches HeartRock Partners After Leaving Gersh

EXCLUSIVE: Alec Shankman, who was head of alternative at Gersh, has left the talent agency to launch his own entertainment and media company.

Shankman, who was also a senior partner, has established HeartRock Partners, which will be based primarily in Cleveland with outposts in L.A., New York and eventually Nashville.

The move comes a couple of years after Gersh acquired the digital and alternative departments of A3 Artists Agency. After that deal was completed, Shankman took over Gersh’s alternative unit. Shankman started his career at Abrams Artists Agency, where he helped launch its unscripted business in 2003 and digital business in 2006. He left at the end of 2025.

He leaves after having spent the last two years helping with the transition of nearly 60 staffers from A3 to Gersh.

Shankman said that HeartRock Partners will have three primary areas of focus: representing “entrepreneurial-minded” talent, representing and building consumer products brands (Shankman oversaw Gersh’s brand consulting business including clients such as mobile dating brand First Round’s On Me) and working with “storytellers and content owners to leverage new technology”.

In terms of talent, HeartRock is a management company, rather than an agency.

Shankman added that Cleveland was important for the business. As well as being the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the city was where Lew Wasserman was born and nearby Youngstown, Ohio was home to Warner Bros. Pictures founders Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack Warner.

Alec Shankman, Founder and CEO of HeartRock, said, “HeartRock is the best place for entrepreneurial-minded creators and talent looking for enterprising representation to help build an entire ‘universe’ around their brand(s). It’s a playbook that I have spent decades refining and will prove to be incredibly powerful in the evolving entertainment ecosystem at a time where content is being consumed differently and money is being made in new ways. We emphasize leveraging emerging technology and thoughtful extensions into consumer products to bolster our talent and brands.”