Crain’s Business of Life editor joins Tribune to ‘learn and grow’

The editor who brought pizzazz to Crain’s Chicago Business has been lured to the Chicago Tribune to work her wonders there.

After seven years as assistant managing editor at Crain’s, Andrea Hanis (pictured left) is leaving June 24 to take on the newly created position of planning editor for the Tribune’s business section. At Crain’s, she launched Business of Life, a weekly section focusing on the workplace culture, and added popular columns by Shia Kapos and Mary Frey.

“Crain’s is a great place to work, and I’ve been very happy here,” Hanis, 41, told me Monday. “The Tribune just offered an opportunity that really dovetailed out of what I was already doing, where I felt like I could contribute right away, but also learn and grow. I’m not someone who loves the process of change — it’s hard, especially when you’re leaving a great situation — but I also believe you can’t just hide and try to stay safe.”

Michael Lev, the Tribune’s assistant managing editor of business, told staffers in a memo that Hanis “will work with all members of our department, as well as other colleagues across the newsroom, to help ensure that the Tribune’s daily business report is a comprehensive must-read.”

Her hiring is part of an editorial expansion at the Tribune, including the addition of pages to the business section and increased staff. The newspaper also unveiled its redesigned home page Monday. “Work will continue the rest of the night and into tomorrow,” tweeted Bill Adee, vice president of digital development and operations.

Before joining Crain’s in 2004, Hanis spent 11 years at the Sun-Times, where she worked as travel editor and lifestyles editor. A native of Whiting, Indiana, she is a journalism graduate of Indiana University.