Tribune Realigns Executive Operations

The Tribune newspaper in Oakland has announced realignment of its executive operations, with Robert C. Maynard, editor and president, sharing control with three executives and creating a new chief executive position.

Maynard told the staff that he will share the new responsibilities with three senior vice presidents.

Leroy F. Aarons, 54, formerly vice president and executive editor, is now senior vice president-news. Susan Tohbe, 40, formerly vice president-finance, has been named senior vice president in charge of industrial relations, operations and management systems. Nancy Hicks Maynard, 41, Maynard’s wife, has been vice president-planning. She becomes senior vice president for overseeing circulation, advertising and marketing.

“The Tribune has two goals: maximum responsiveness to the needs and concerns of our readers and maximum efficiency in our methods of operation,” Maynard said in a prepared statement. “The creation of this new office, undertaken after an extended study and careful consideration, serves those goals well.”

Joseph J. Haraburda, former senior vice president and general manager, has left the newspaper.

Maynard became the first black owner of a major metropolitan newspaper in the United States in 1983, when he and Beverly Hills lawyer Paul R. Greenberg bought the Tribune from Gannett Co. for $22 million.

The Tribune’s daily circulation for the 12-month period ending in September, 1987, was 149,256 and 150,089 for Sunday editions, according to Dan Sidbury, director of circulation.