Private Company Director’s Directors to Watch 2025 highlights 31 significant and diverse directors who have contributed to and will continue to expand ongoing dialogue on board best practices and corporate governance excellence.

Shannon DiPietro
Electri-Cord Manufacturing Co.
Shannon DiPietro is an independent director and chair of the compensation committee of Electri-Cord Manufacturing Co.
She has over 30 years of global business experience across five industries, serving as chief human resources officer of TuSimple, and VP of human resources for Thermo Fisher Scientific and S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. At General Motors, she served in senior HR roles in manufacturing, IT, sales/marketing and facilities.
DiPietro has a global perspective with multiyear expat assignments in China and Thailand focused on M&A, start-ups and greenfields/brownfields. She has deep experience in labor relations and contract negotiations in union and nonunion environments. She holds certifications in private, private equity and ESOP company governance.
Block out the noise: “An independent director’s role is to clear out ‘noise’ in strategic decision-making by asking provocative questions, whether the topic is acquiring or selling businesses, preparing for CEO succession or driving the best company results. Statements like ‘I’m curious, tell me more’ or ‘Help me understand why this plan is substantially better than the prior plan’ are ways to engage senior leadership in a rich dialogue to drive to the best decisions. The trick is to keep conversations strategic and focused on driving top- and bottom-line growth while complementing company culture.”