Hunt, who had been with the company for five years, is understood to have already left the company "by reason of redundancy".

An internal memo informing staff of Hunt's departure, sent last Tuesday (16 February), said: "During his time with Emap,
Richard has implemented many changes in production and distribution which have changed the way we produce and distribute our magazines, while at the same time delivering considerable cost savings.

"Richard leaves the business with our thanks and good wishes."

Last January, Hunt completed a seven-month tender process that resulted in a shake-up of the publisher's £5m print roster – consolidating its supplier base down to two, Headley Brothers and William Gibbons.

This latest high profile redundancy follows Debbie Read's departure from Bauer Media last August and Alice Beattie's exit from The National Magazine Company last April.

Hunt's responsibilities will be split between Henry Thomas, head of finance for Emap Inform, Jason Stead, Emap head of procurement, and Paul Moran, group production manager at Emap Inform.