Lead Independent Director | Speaker | Investor | Advisor |
Proud mom of Stanford women's soccer player #12 | Co-founder @bwob_io | Producer & EP @OnBoardTheFilm
A software engineer turned Silicon Valley COO and investor, I have taken six companies through IPO and am an active angel investor in dozens of companies. I am also a Fortune 500 board member, Lead Independent Director, and Chair of Compensation of Rocket Lab. I also serve as Nomination & Governance Committees Chair and member of the Audit Committee on various boards. I bring corporate governance experience through my work on public and private boards, where I advise companies on enterprise risks, technology trends, innovation, strategy, cybersecurity, and digital transformation, to name a few.
Prior to my board roles, I was an executive with a proven track record in award-winning products in Fortune 500 and privately held companies, including Intuit, Yahoo, PayPal, Adobe, Joyent, and Sun Microsystems. I enjoy advising CEOs, have led and scaled product development teams in global digital transformations for B2B and B2C companies, and executed M&A integrations and divestitures.
As an active CXO community member and a sought-after thought leader, I have been quoted in many major publications, including WSJ, Forbes, Fortune, CNET, CIO Review, CIO Journal, and Business Insider.
Recognitions & certifications include:
- 2023 Worth Magazine’s Worthy 100
- 2022 LinkedIn Top Voices in Leadership: The 10 creators to follow in the U.S.
- 2022 NACD Directorship 100™
- 2021 Most Influential Black Corporate Director by Savoy Magazine,
- 2019 Most Influential Corporate Board Directors by Women’s Inc.,
- Women of Influence 2017 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.
In addition to my business interests, I am passionate about coaching leaders in board work and leadership. I founded BWOB (www.bwob.io) to help prepare, place, and propel Black female leaders into board seats. Our members build, fund, and lead lives of consequence.
You can my check availability for speaking engagements at https://www.merlinesaintil.com