Elizabeth Spiers (a former Mediabistro editor-in-chief) is leaving The New York Observer. According to the paper, Spiers — who joined as editor in February of last year — is stepping aside to launch a new company, and will remain a part time consultant for the Observer Media Group.

Executive editor Aaron Gell is succeeding Spiers as the Observer’s new editor-in-chief.

“Elizabeth has been a phenomenal editor and manager,” said Jared Kushner, in a statement. “Not only did she bring on a wonderful team, she redesigned the paper and websites, launched a slew of new verticals and web properties, and invigorated the newsroom, all while more than doubling web traffic. I’m grateful for her efforts, and I look forward to seeing what she does next.”

UPDATE:
Christopher Barnes is also leaving. Check out the full internal memo here.