Widely respected packaging journalist Mary Murphy has died at the age of 63. Such was her influence on the packaging industry, that there can be few people who have not had some contact with Mary. She was especially well connected with the movers and shakers of the industry – of which she was one – and she could count many CEOs of leading packaging companies among her friends. As Editor of Packaging Week, which then became Packaging Magazine before being sold to Packaging News, her journalistic skills, no-nonsense approach, inherent fairness and professional integrity took the magazine to new heights. Her work and passionate style made for a much stronger UK packaging press as a whole. Managing editor and publisher roles for the Packaging Magazine Group followed, where she was responsible for the introduction of the Packaging Industry Awards, www.dotpackaging.com, the newsletters Packaging Business, Packaging Innovation and Packaging Environment, as well as a series of industry reports. In 2002, Mary formed her own company MAJIC with her partner Audrey and worked as an independent publisher, PR consultant and conference organiser for clients such as The Packaging Society, Reed Exhibitions, William Reed Business Media and the PPMA, for which she edited Machinery Update magazine. She will be truly missed by her family and friends, but also by the packaging industry for which she was an extremely effective champion.
