The Los Angeles Times announced today that Russ Stanton is “stepping down” after four years as the paper’s editor. No reason has been given for his departure. Stanton’s final day will be December 23.

He’ll be replaced by Davan Maharaj, currently the managing editor for news at the LA Times. Maharaj will be the 15th editor of the LAT, and the 5th editor the paper has had in the last 7 years. Quite a revolving door.

More about Maharaj from the LAT release:

He joined the company in 1989, working as a reporter in Orange County, Los Angeles and East Africa. His six-part series “Living on Pennies,” in collaboration with Times photographer Francine Orr, won the 2005 Ernie Pyle Award for Human Interest Writing and inspired readers to donate tens of thousands of dollars to aid agencies working in Africa.

Closer to home, Maharaj’s investigative report about a probate attorney who inherited millions of dollars in stock, land and other “gifts” from his clients led to changes in California probate law.

Maharaj also served as an assistant foreign editor and was appointed Business editor in 2007. During that time, he revamped the organization’s Business coverage, giving greater emphasis to consumer issues and personal finances. Following his appointment as managing editor in 2008, Maharaj worked with Stanton to help transform The Times newsroom into a fully-staffed, 24-hour operation, delivering news across multiple platforms including digital, mobile, video and print.