IPG Photonics appointed Jeanmarie Desmond and Natalia Pavlova to its board of directors, effective Jan. 7. Igor Samartsev, the company’s CTO, is stepping down from his board seat. The company announced the appointments in a Jan. 7 press release. Desmond previously served as CFO of DuPont and as controller and head of finance for DowDupont’s Specialty Products Division, overseeing the division’s strategic planning, portfolio integration, and financial reporting. Prior to the merger of Dow and DuPont, Desmond served as vice president and controller of DuPont. In more than 25 years with DuPont, she was responsible for finance leadership and operations, financial planning and analysis, tax, internal audit, accounting controls, risk management, mergers and acquisitions, and investor relations. She will also become a member of the Audit Committee of the IPG board. Pavlova is the spouse of Samartsev and the former daughter-in-law of company President Valentin Gapontsev. In addition to her knowledge of the company’s history and corporate culture, Pavlova is a significant shareholder with a demonstrated commitment to IPG’s long-term success.