Verizon Exec Lori Bonenfant Mourned As ‘Fierce’ Channel Advocate

‘She left her imprint on our business and we are lucky to have called her friend and teammate,’ Verizon Channel Chief Wendy Taccetta says of Bonenfant.

Lori Ann Bonenfant, a steadfast friend of the channel, advocate for women in IT, and Verizon veteran, has passed away at the age of 54.

Bonenfant passed away on Feb. 13 following a year-long battle with cancer, according to her colleagues at Basking Ridge, N.J.-based Verizon.

“[Bonenfant] took immense pride in being a VTeamer. She was a fierce cheerleader for her team and came to work each day focused on making the team successful,” said Wendy Taccetta, senior vice president, sales operations and Verizon's new global channel chief, in a memo to employees obtained by CRN.

Taccetta, who worked closely with Bonenfant, said that Bonenfant was transparent about her cancer diagnosis and that she heroically battled cancer with humor and strength, and with her “trademark smile and style.”

“I have no words to make this loss any easier except to listen to what Lori said so many times. Take a breath and then another one,” Taccetta said.

Bonenfant, part of CRN's 2020 Women Of The Channel Power 100, had a two-decade long tenure at service provider giant Verizon. She most recently served as director, channel program and operations for Verizon Business. Bonenfant and her team developed programs and tools to keep partners supported throughout their customer‘s solution lifecycle. She worked to evolve Verizon’s partner ecosystem by developing a broad channel strategy and expanding the portfolio for Verizon partners, and by extension, their customers, according to Bonenfant’s 2020 Women Of The Channel listing.

Prior to her director role, Bonenfant led direct and indirect field marketing and spent eight years as a senior sales engineer for Verizon Business. She got her start with Verizon in 2000 as a branch sales engineer in Boston, according to Verizon.

A graduate of the Verizon Marketing Management Development Program, Bonenfant was appointed to the Leaders in Excellence Program, the Women of the World Program, and is a recipient of the Verizon Master‘s Club Achievement Award, the carrier said.

Bonenfant, who lived in East Bridgewater, Mass., leaves behind her family, including husband Mark and her children, Jacqui and Kyle.

Bonenfant’s daughter, Jacqui, worked alongside her mother in the Verizon Business group.

“She was so proud of her group and her daughter, who was also in the program,” Taccetta recalled. “She said it was one of the best things she had ever done at Verizon as she smiled from ear to ear. I have to disagree with her. It was just one of the many, many amazing things that she did at Verizon and we are going to miss her as part of our team. She left her imprint on our business and we are lucky to have called her friend and teammate.”