Hurst had been unwell for some time and died in hospital last Friday (16 February). She had worked in print production for more than 25 years and was highly-regarded by colleagues, peers and industry suppliers alike.  

Keith Cooper, formerly sales manager at St Ives, became a personal friend after many years of doing business with Hurst. He paid tribute: “Joanne came to us from America, she was born in upstate New York. She met her husband in the United Nations where she was working as a secretary, came to the UK and worked for The Listener and New Statesman before she got her great big break when she was appointed as production director at Ziff Davis in 1991," he said.  

"She was an inspirational character – the PC magazines were a big deal at the time and she was the leading light in that area of publishing. She was fun, firm, fair and absolutely committed, her life was her work.” 

After Ziff Davis was acquired by VNU in 2000 Hurst became production director of VNU Business Publications, moving to the Lands' End role in 2008.  

Jon Roberts, the managing director at Wyndeham Roche, also knew Hurst for many years and said the news of her passing had caused great sadness among his team.   

"Joanne had such an infectious passion for the industry and will be remembered with great fondness and respect. She was always fun to be around and took a genuine interest in everyone she worked with. She was well-respected and well-liked." 

Hurst's enthusiasm for all things print extended to sharing her insights for a variety of PrintWeek articles, and she brought her considerable expertise to bear as a member of the PrintWeek Awards judging panel on a number of occasions, most recently in 2015.  

"Joanne will be fondly remembered by the many PrintWeek team members past and present who met her over the years," said PrintWeek contributing editor Jo Francis.  

"She was a true professional who was tremendously well-informed about the industry and her supplier base. She was also great fun, with a dry wit, and we had many entertaining exchanges over the years about industry happenings. It's so sad to be reporting this news." 

Hurst is survived by her husband, Alan. Funeral details were unavailable at the time of writing.