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DGA Promotes Schwenz to Lead Communications Ahead of 2026 Talks

Public Relations and Communications

BusinessHonor - DGA Elevates Schwenz for 2026 Talks

Business Honor
02 October, 2025

New leadership signals strategic shift, enhancing DGA’s communications ahead of crucial 2026 negotiations.

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has promoted Mitchell Schwenz to Executive in Charge of Communications, highlighting the growing importance of strategic communications and PR as the union prepares for its crucial 2026 talks with Big Hollywood studios and streaming platforms. Schwenz, who joined the DGA in 2024 and serves as its Director of Public Relations, brings over a decade of media outreach, crisis comms, and labor union messaging experience to the table. In his newly expanded position, he will now be responsible for the DGA's entire communications department, managing external media relations as well as internal channels like the DGA Monthly magazine, the union's website, and its social media platforms.

"Mitchell's innovative thinking is already taking our public relations efforts to the next level," said Russell Hollander, DGA National Executive Director. "His leadership will bolster our communications strategy at a moment when clarity, transparency, and solid messaging are more important than ever." Before joining at the DGA, Schwenz was a Senior Vice President for Precision Communications, where he served as representative for high-profile clients like SAG-AFTRA during the 2023 strikes, the NBA Players Association, and Hollywood celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Meghan Markle. He also led crisis communications for the SXSW festival for over a decade.

Schwenz's appointment is a sign of change in the communications strategy of the DGA, especially in the wake of criticism during the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes. Through the upgrade of its PR leadership, the union is clearly positioning itself to become more confrontational, calculated in its messaging in its future labor negotiations. Such action emphasizes the importance of communications and public relations within labor unions, particularly within the fast-evolving media and entertainment landscape.