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BRIEF OVERVIEW

Merline Saintil – a software engineer turned Silicon Valley COO and investor who has taken six companies through their IPOs – is an active investor in dozens of companies that are shaping enterprise technology, AI, future of work, and deep technology. 

A frequent featured speaker and with her perspectives quoted in major publications including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Forbes, Merline is now starting a fund that invests in early-stage companies. 

She is a Fortune 100 board member and co-founder of Black Women on Boards, a global organization of 200+ executives at market-leading companies who help prepare, place and propel top Black female talent into boardrooms of the most innovative companies. 

Her Carnegie Mellon master’s degree in software engineering serves her well as lead independent director of Rocket Lab. She also advises the C-suite as a board member and committee chair at Symbotic, Evolv Technology, Gitlab, and TD Synnex.

Outside of her business interests, Merline is passionate about supporting emerging leaders and investing in women's sports! She is a fan of the Stanford Women's Soccer team, which conveniently plays near her home and includes her daughter, an equally ardent computer science student who plans to go pro upon graduation

Sampling of Influencer Recognitions:

  • 2024 Carnegie Mellon College of Engineering: Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award

  • 2023 CNBC Changemakers Advisory Board

  • 2023 Worth Magazine’s Worthy 100

  • 2022 LinkedIn Top Voices in Leadership: The Top 10 Creators to Follow

  • 2022 NACD Directorship 100™

  • 2021 Most Influential Black Corporate Director by Savoy Magazine,

  • 2019 Most Influential Corporate Board Directors by Women’s, Inc.

  • 2017 Women of Influence by Silicon Valley Business Journal

  • Business Insider: #6 of the 22 Most Powerful Women Engineers in the World

  • Lifetime Achievement Award by Girls in Tech

  • Contributing writer for the Governance in the Digital Age book published by Diligent Corporation

  • Board Cybersecurity Oversight by NACD and the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute.

  • Advisor and guest speaker in executive education and board governance programs, including Stanford Directors’ College and Harvard Business School. 

Not just a thought leader but an action leader, Merline has global and timely appeal in addressing the most consequential topics of our times.

She authors a monthly newsletter, Lifting As We Climb, in which she interviews leading minds and has meaningful conversations with her friends and colleagues (VCs, CEOs, board members, founders, CXOs, and more) focused on a centralized theme around leadership principles.