North Carolina Nu Colony - Founded 1931

Retired from Gannett effective Dec 17 2008.

In various circulation director roles and most recently as vice president/Circulation, Rob Althaus has valued and supported a strong news product. Rob, who is retiring at year’s end, has put in place many programs that take advantage of targeting certain audiences, of strengthening single-copy approaches, and of otherwise advancing circulation efforts.

With the advent of online, the challenges in circulation have grown substantially, and Rob has embraced the new world while still appreciating, advocating and supporting the traditional print newspaper.

The experts in circulation know far better than I the various steps he has taken over the years and the excellent relationships he has built, but for the purposes of this piece, let it suffice to say that Rob, too, cares deeply about the important reporting and public-service mission we have to carry out in our communities.

Rob Althaus has the leadership and experience to build upon our past accomplishments and lead our newspapers' circulation operations into the new millennium," Watson said.

Althaus, 50, joined Detroit Newspapers in 1991 as senior vice-president. He was previously circulation director of the St. Petersburg Times and prior to that, circulation director of the Philadelphia Daily News. He is a two-time recipient of the President's Ring for outstanding performance by Gannett newspaper circulation executives. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University and a MBA from Drexel University.