Ed Russell has announced that he will retire as executive vice president of worldwide publicity, promotions and field publicity at Columbia Pictures when his contract expires this year. He joined the studio in 1986 as vice president of publicity and his career in studio publicity spans nearly 30 years.

"After nearly 30 years of working many six- and seven-day weeks, including hundreds of premieres, junkets and film festivals, I want to spend more time with my family and pursue all those areas of interest that I've had to put on the back burner," explained Russell in a statement.

Russell has worked on some of Columbia's biggest hits over the last 14 years including The Last Emperor, Steel Magnolias, Basic Instinct, Sleepless In Seattle, Philadelphia, Sense And Sensibility, Jerry Maguire, As Good As It Gets, Big Daddy and Stuart Little.