Longtime Chicago radio suit John Gehron has announced that he’ll be leaving Oprah Winfrey’s “Oprah & Friends” radio operation, heard on XM Sirius satellite radio. Gehron joined Winfrey’s Harpo Productions two years ago as general manager and helped to launch the radio arm of Winfrey’s media empire. Prior to this gig, Gehron was with Clear Channel and will also be remembered by Chicago listeners for his stint as PD at WLS-AM in the 70s and 80s.

Recently, Harpo hired Eric Logan from XM to oversee radio, print, and retail. It’s pretty certain that Gehron and Logan did not get along, leading to Gehron’s hasty exit.

There is also speculation that, with the merger between XM and Sirius now final, the company’s new boss Mel Karmazin is looking to terminate the relationship with Oprah. XM reached a deal in 2006 for $55 million to license the Oprah brand for their service. In the current economic climate, it seems unlikely that the notoriously cost-conscious Karmazin will renew the deal when it expires next September.

Gehron has not announced his next move.