Boston Magazine Publisher Lynne Montesanto has experienced a lot of inspiring moments over the course of her career, but she said her favorite was when she was invited to attend an event at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, where she was able to see Prince William and Princess Kate in December 2022.
From England to Boston, Montesanto has seen it all, but laid her roots in Lynnfield, where she raised her family for 25 years.
Montesanto raised her two children, Jack and Whitney, alongside her husband, Peet, in Lynnfield after moving from Charlestown for a “better life in the suburbs.”
She said she and her husband had no previous connection to Lynnfield and found it when they were looking for a home to raise a family.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the office for Boston was no longer needed, so Montesanto moved with her family to York, Maine.
However, Montesanto is still a part of her Lynnfield book club, which is celebrating a 20-year anniversary in October with a trip to the Azores. The club is currently reading “The Women” by Kristin Hannah.
Prior to working at Boston, Montesanto worked at The Wall Street Journal, running the sales department in Boston for 11 years.
In that position, she was driven by retail finance, her biggest clients being Fidelity, Liberty Mutual, State Street Corporation, and John Hancock Finance.
A friend of hers was tasked with finding a publisher for Boston and called her up one day.
Montesanto said she “really had to think about it” because the offered job was very different from and much bigger than her job at The Wall Street Journal.
Technically, she was going from business-to-business sales to
business-to-consumer sales.
“This was my biggest leap in terms of doing something that I was scared of, but I also figured, how could I pass it up, right?” Montesanto said.
Once she got past her fears, Montesanto once again flourished in the Boston market.
Montesanto said one of her favorite things about working at Boston has been being able to make personal connections with the people who make Boston a community.
“I’ve met all the most famous chefs, the heads of all the arts and entertainment museums and institutions, and been exposed to the 150 Most Influential Bostonians,” Montesanto said. “It’s really given me an opportunity to engage in the Boston market in a way I would never have been able to on my own.”
Montesanto highlighted working with other influential women in the field of journalism and publishing, including Boston Globe CEO Linda Henry, who also happens to be from Lynnfield.
During COVID-19, Montesanto said the industry had to figure out how to get through the pandemic when businesses were not advertising.
“Advertising came to a standstill in almost every category, except for real estate,” she said.
She ended up heading an advertising campaign, Faces of Family Businesses, that connected the people behind local businesses and made them faces of the community.
Montesanto said oftentimes, consumers might see an advertisement without knowing the behind-the-scenes story.
“Because we’re all about helping local businesses succeed, we took an angle where we said we’re going to do a profile of you, the business owner, so people can connect in a different way with you,” she said.
She said she enjoyed being able to make the businesses “more human by showing the people behind the business.
“That was something that I was really proud of,” she said.
She said she cares about the local businesses in Boston and the generations behind them, which has been a very different experience from when she worked with the Fortune 500 companies on State Street.
“There’s no face behind the corporate business. With this, you’re seeing generations of family businesses trying to either grow their business, maintain the business they had, or compete in the market that’s been really tough since COVID-19,” Montesanto said. “You want to work with them to help them succeed and have them feel like we are a dedicated, loyal partner that’s part of their team.”
Montesanto also highlighted one of the largest campaigns the magazine runs, the Best of Boston Awards.
“We help make and break businesses in a way that not many other publications or media types can do in a market,” she said.
The awards are especially important because they help local businesses make a name for themselves in the city’s vibrant community.
Montesanto also guest-lectures business classes at Boston College
“The interesting thing is, I start every single class by saying to the students, ‘How many of you read magazines?’” she said.
Usually, she said, one student, if that, will raise their hand.
“‘How many of your parents read magazines?’” she asks next. “100%. That’s how quickly this has turned around.”
