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Bumble Ward, a veteran personal publicist-turned-studio executive, is leaving her post as executive vp publicity at 20th Century Fox after joining the studio Aug. 30, 2011.
Her abrupt exit comes on the heels of the departure of Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairman Tom Rothman, who was instrumental in hiring Ward along with Oren Aviv as co-president of domestic theatrical marketing and chief marketing officer.
However, insiders say it quickly became apparent that she wasn’t the right fit and that Ward’s skills as a personal publicist didn’t translate. She has four months left on her 18-month contract.
Ward headed up publicity for the studio’s film marketing unit, reporting to Aviv and co-president of domestic theatrical marketing and chief creative officer Tony Sella.
She was responsible for all aspects of publicity campaigns for Fox films in North America, working on titles including Prometheus, The Watch and Taken 2. The studio has had a mixed year at the box office, with The Watch bombing. But Taken 2, now in theaters, has quickly transformed into a hit.
Ward, who is British, formerly ran her own public relations, marketing and communications firm, Bumble Ward & Associates. Her client roster included Quentin Tarantino, Tim Burton, Sofia Coppola, Tony Scott, Paul Thomas Anderson, DNA Studios, FremantleMedia and USC School of Cinema and Television.
Ward closed her firm in 2005 to pursue her longtime interests in writing and social media marketing. She also launched MissWhistle.com, a blog mixing film, politics, art, books, photography and personal memoir.
Prior to launching Bumble Ward & Associates, Ward was an executive at the boutique PR firms Clein + White Public Relations and Marketing, Dennis Davidson & Associates, Andrea Jaffe & Associates and Clein + Feldman.
