• by Sara Guaglione , December 29, 2015

Kevin Mowbray will likely move up the ranks of newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises from executive vice president and COO to become president and CEO in February, taking over from Mary Junck.

Junck will become executive chairman. She has served as Lee Enterprises’ CEO for 15 years, and is also currently chairman of the board of directors of The Associated Press.

According to a report from Talking New Media, lead independent director Herb Moloney said Junck chose Kevin as her successor, and the company’s board plans to nominate Mowbray for the post as well.

Mowbray, who has worked at Lee since 1986, has held executive companywide positions since 2013, and previously was publisher of its largest newspaper, the St. Louis Dispatch, starting in 2006.

It has been a tough year for Lee Enterprises, which publishes 54 daily newspapers in 23 states.  Revenue fell 1.9 percent to $648.5 million. However, in the company’s most recent fiscal year -- which ended Sept. 27 -- Lee profit rose to $23.3 million, or 44 cents a share, up from $6.8 million, or 13 cents, in 2014.