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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 building A10L Ventures, a holding company that acquires and builds asset-light businesses ripe for technology and AI transformation.

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 technical degrees, coupled with a Stanford business education, serve her well as an advisor and public board director of leading technology companies such as Rocket Lab (RKLB), GitLab (GTLB), Symbotic (SYM), and TD Synnex (SNX).

Outside of her business interests, Merline is passionate about supporting the next generation, especially student‑athletes pursuing STEM degrees. She is an avid fan of Stanford women’s soccer and proud mom of Jasmine Aikey, the first Stanford player ever to win both the MAC Hermann Trophy and Academic All‑America Team Member of the Year in the same season, and only the second player in Division I history to achieve this rare double. Jasmine earned these honors while graduating as a computer science major and now plays professionally in the NWSL for Denver Summit FC.

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 authored 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.