Fundraising Fox

Merline Saintil

Investor

Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)

Palo Alto, California

Writes $5M – $25M checks · typically $15M

About

Merline Saintil is Lead Independent Director and Chair of the Nomination & Governance Committee at Rocket Lab, a publicly traded aerospace company, and serves on Fortune 100 and other public and private boards. A software engineer and former Silicon Valley COO, she has guided six companies through IPO and worked in executive roles at companies including Intuit, Yahoo, PayPal, Adobe, and Sun Microsystems, with expertise in product development, digital transformation, and M&A integration. She is co-founder of BWOB, an organization focused on advancing Black women into board leadership roles, and is an active angel investor and advisor to CEOs.

Experience

  1. Rocket LabLead Independent Director, Chair of Nom & Gov Committee, and Compensation Committee membercurrent2021 — present
  2. TD SYNNEXBoard Member; Chair of the Compensation Committee and Nom & Gov Committee Membercurrent2021 — present
  3. SymboticBoard Member; Chair of Nom & Gov Committeecurrent2021 — presentBoston, Massachusetts, United States
  4. GitLab Inc.Former Board Member; Compensation Committee Member2020 — 2026
  5. Evolv TechnologyFormer Board Member; Chair of Nom & Gov2021 — 2025
  6. Banner BankFormer Board Member; Compensation Committee Member; Risk Committee Member2017 — 2022
  7. Change HealthcareCOO, R&D and IT2019 — 2020San Mateo, CA
  8. Diligent CorporationContributing Writer; Governance in the Digital Age: A Guide for the Modern Corporate Board Director2019
  9. Diligent CorporationPodcast: The Board's Changing Role in Cyber, Risk, and Strategy2019
  10. IntuitHead of Operations, Product & Technology (CTO Office)2014 — 2018Mountain View, CA
  11. YahooHead of Operations, Mobile & Emerging Products2014Sunnyvale, CA
  12. JoyentVice President, Strategy and Technology Operations (acquired by Samsung)2011 — 2013San Francisco, CA
  13. PayPalBusiness Operations Leader, CTO Office2010 — 2011San Jose, CA
  14. Adobe SystemsSegment Leader – Flash Professional & Sr Technical PM2006 — 2010San Francisco, CA
  15. Sun MicrosystemsSoftware Engineering Team Lead & Sr Technical PM2000 — 2006Menlo Park, CA

Education

  1. Stanford University Graduate School of BusinessExecutive MBA, Stanford Executive Program
  2. Carnegie Mellon UniversityMaster of Science (M.S.), Software Engineering Mgmt
  3. Florida Agricultural and Mechanical UniversityBachelor of Science (BS), CS
  4. Stanford UniversityDirector's College - Stanford Law School
  5. Harvard Business School Executive Education

Skills & more

Leadership Accountability3Emotional Intelligence6Problem Solving1Leadership29Clarity2Strategy36XML2Java11MS Project2C2Visual Basic2MySQL2
+12 moreAccessAdvisory BoardsTechnology TrendsBoard of DirectorsStrategic LeadershipBusiness PerspectiveOperational ExecutionPerformance DashboardsPredictableEmpowermentAcquisition IntegrationCollaboration

Languages French

  • CERTIFIED IN CYBERSECURITY OVERSIGHT The National Association  of Corporate Directors & The Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute — NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors)

From Merline's professional profile.

Deals · 1

Evolv TechnologiesBoard seat

via DCVC (Data Collective) · filed Feb 2021 · $30M raise

Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.

Colleagues at DCVC (Data Collective)

Aimee Villamayor
Office Manager & Executive Assistant, DCVC Bio at DCVC (Data Collective)
Alan Cohen
General Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)
Ali Tamaseb
General Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)
Allyson Kaufman
Investor Relations Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)
Anna Fokina
Investment Director DCVC Bio at DCVC (Data Collective)
Cara Yesko
Associate at DCVC (Data Collective)
Carly Smith
Office Assistant, DCVC Bio at DCVC (Data Collective)
Chris Boshuizen
Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)

Network1

Alan CohenScout
General Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)

Investors connected to Merline in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Merline Saintil work?
Merline Saintil is Partner at DCVC (Data Collective).
What check size does Merline Saintil write?
Merline Saintil typically writes checks of $5M – $25M.

Same school

Also attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business1,293

Roelof BothaAdvisor & former Steward at Sequoia Capital; SpaceX board memberPeter FentonGeneral Partner at BenchmarkSteve JurvetsonCo-founder of Future VenturesDavid SzeAdvisory Partner at GreylockKatherine BoyleGeneral Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (American Dynamism)Hunter WalkCo-founder & Partner at Homebrew

+ 1,287 more

Also attended Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University17

Floyd H. GriffithManaging Partner at Little Bristol PartnersShila Nieves BurneyManaging Partner at Zane Venture FundLivi GrantInvestor at MaC Venture CapitalHassan MuhammadSeae Ventures Fellow at Seae VenturesMeaghan GamboaAssociate, Investments at Acumen AmericaSydney HolnessInvestment Associate at Collab Capital

+ 11 more

Also attended Stanford University2,000

Peter ThielCo-founder & Partner at Founders FundReid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockDavid SacksCo-founder & General Partner at Craft Ventures; PCAST co-chair; former White House AI & crypto czarKeith RaboisManaging Director at Khosla VenturesGarry TanPresident & CEO of Y CombinatorAlfred LinPartner at Sequoia Capital

+ 1,994 more

Also attended Harvard Business School Executive Education129

Ryan LaurinManaging Director at Marlin Equity PartnersPaul SlosarInvestor at FortySix Venture CapitalRaghu MadabushiInvestment Director at Samsung Catalyst FundTom KalinskeInvestor at Alsop Louie PartnersKevin MandiaGeneral Partner at Ballistic VenturesRichard GrecoVenture Partner at IronGate Capital Advisors

+ 123 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Diligent Corporation6

Brian StaffordPartner / Founder at Blue CollectiveLisa EdwardsOperations at Smith Point CapitalAneta SokolowskaPortfolio Manager at NESsTCheryl MackVenture Partner at Black Nova VCAdam BergerManaging Director at Insight PartnersRobert ArditiGeneral Partner at Norwest Venture Partners

Also worked at Yahoo280

Jess LeePartner and Chief Product Officer at Sequoia CapitalMike SpeiserManaging Director at Sutter Hill VenturesFrédérique DameInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Marcie VuPartner at GreycroftIsabelle PhelpsPartner at Lerer HippeauPaul LevineOperating Partner at Sapphire Ventures

+ 274 more

Also worked at PayPal137

Peter ThielCo-founder & Partner at Founders FundReid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockRoelof BothaAdvisor & former Steward at Sequoia Capital; SpaceX board memberDavid SacksCo-founder & General Partner at Craft Ventures; PCAST co-chair; former White House AI & crypto czarKeith RaboisManaging Director at Khosla VenturesJoe LonsdaleFounder & Managing Partner of 8VC

+ 131 more

Also worked at Adobe Systems120

Louise TomlinsonInvestor at Reinventure GroupAditya ReddyVice President at Sapphire VenturesSydney SloanChief Marketing Officer at Scale Venture PartnersJeff VeenDesigner and investor in London, United KingdomErika NashInvestor at Next Frontier CapitalDavid MackayD9Y at Mucker Capital

+ 114 more