2026 Alumni Achievement Award
Merline Saintil is a software engineer turned Silicon Valley COO and investor whose leadership has transformed businesses and boardrooms across the country.
She is an active angel investor in enterprise technology, AI and deep tech who has taken six companies through their IPOs and whose portfolio includes more than 40 startups and pre-IPO companies. Merline is currently building A10L Ventures, a holding company that acquires and transforms businesses through AI and human-machine collaboration.
In addition to her work as an investor, Merline advises corporate boards on technology strategy, AI, cybersecurity, enterprise risk and digital transformation. She is also passionate about supporting the next generation of leaders and increasing representation and diversity in boardrooms. As co-founder of Black Women on Boards (BWOB), Merline supports a network of more than 200 executives who help prepare, place and propel top talent into the boardrooms of some of the country’s most innovative companies. She has placed over 50 women on corporate boards in just five years.
Merline is an active leader in her field, serving as chair of the compensation committee at Fortune 100 company TD Synnex and lead independent director of Rocket Lab, a pioneering space exploration company. She also chairs the nominations and governance committee at Symbotic, a high-growth company revolutionizing supply chain logistics through AI-enabled automation.
Prior to her board work, Merline held executive leadership roles at Intuit, Yahoo, PayPal, Adobe, Joyent and Sun Microsystems. She has received numerous recognitions for her work, including a spot on the 2023 CNBC Changemakers Advisory Board, the 2023 Worth Magazine’s Worthy 100 list, and the 2022 NACD Directorship 100 list. She was named one of the 2019 Most Influential Corporate Board Directors by Women’s Inc, the 2021 Most Influential Black Corporate Director by Savoy Magazine, and one of the 22 Most Powerful Women Engineers in the World by Business Insider.
Merline received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Florida A&M University and a master’s degree in software engineering management from Carnegie Mellon University, and is an alumna of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Outside of her business interests, she is passionate about supporting student-athletes pursuing STEM degrees.
This award reminds me that my legacy is not measured in titles or accolades, but in the scaled impact of empowering others to reach their fullest potential. It stands as a reminder to us all to never let where we start define what is possible.
Merline Saintil