Harcourt Shifts Jobs

The duties of the son of the chairman of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich publishing house have been expanded to include supervision of the company’s six amusement parks.

Chairman William Jovanovich has ordered the park presidents to report to his 39-year-old son, Peter Jovanovich, who as one of two HBJ executive vice presidents has headed trade book and academic publishing.

Ralph D. Caulo, named the company’s president and chief operating officer in April, was recently assigned supervision of such park operations as food procurement, marketing and management of aquatic mammals. Peter Jovanovich will be assisted by Robert E. Evanson, a HBJ senior vice president,

The management realignment followed the departure of Jack O. Snyder, longtime chief of the company’s theme parks.

HBJ’s amusement parks include four Sea World marine parks in Orlando, Fla.; Aurora, Ohio; San Antonio and San Diego. It also owns Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Fla., and Boardwalk & Baseball in Haines City, Fla.

The personnel changes have followed the company’s financial restructuring after a successful fight of an unwanted takeover. The multibillion-dollar company has borrowed heavily and paid out huge dividends to its shareholders. It maintains a substantial debt load despite selling its trade magazine division and unused real estate holdings.

According to HBJ’s most recent quarterly report, for the period that ended March 31, the company suffered a net loss of $35.5 million on revenue of $306.7 million. During the same period in 1987, the company lost $9.4 million on revenue of $285.7 million.