PR Veteran Cynthia Swartz Leaving 42West to Open Her Own Firm

In a move that will have an impact on the upcoming awards season, Cynthia Swartz is leaving 42West, the bicoastal publicity company where she has been a partner since 2005, to open her own firm.

As co-head of 42West’s Entertainment Marketing Division, Swartz has overseen publicity for film release campaigns and individual filmmakers while developing a specialty in awards campaigns, such as the successful push for The Social Network, which she orchestrated last year.

“It’s something we’ve all been working toward for a while, and it’s an amicable parting,” Leslee Dart, founder and CEO of 42West, said.  “Cynthia has a particular genius for award campaigns, and I believe we all feel that we’ll probably all be doing business together in the future.”

Swartz, who honed her campaigning skills under Harvey Weinstein as exec vp of publicity at Miramax before joining 42West, declined comment.

While the details of her exit are still be worked out, the expectation is that she will set up her own shop by the time awards season kicks into gear at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September.