Alpha Kappa Alpha Inducts Silicon Valley Executive and Investor Merline Saintil as an Honorary Member

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated has inducted technology executive and investor Merline Saintil as an Honorary Member. The induction took place during the sorority’s 72nd Boule in Las Vegas.

Merline Saintil is a software engineer turned Silicon Valley COO and investor who has guided six companies through IPOs and is an active angel investor in enterprise technology, AI, and deep tech. She spent years backing founders before the world knew their names, with more than 40 startups and pre-IPO companies in her portfolio. She is now building A10L Ventures, a holding company that acquires and transforms businesses through AI and human-machine collaboration.

Saintil continues to advise CEOs and founders. She serves as chair of the compensation committee at Fortune 100 company TD Synnex (NYSE: SNX) and as the lead independent director of Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB), a space exploration company redefining access to orbit, a distinction held by only a handful of Black women globally. She also chairs the nominations and governance committee at Symbotic (NASDAQ: SYM), a high-growth company revolutionizing supply chain logistics through AI-enabled automation. Across public and newly public boards, she advises on technology strategy, AI, cybersecurity, enterprise risk, and digital transformation.

Saintil is also the co-founder of Black Women on Boards, a network of more than 200 executives representing over $11 trillion in market cap, through which she has placed over 50 women on corporate boards in just five years. She co-executive produced the award-winning documentary OnBoard, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023.

Saintil graduated valedictorian and summa cum laude with a BS in computer science from Florida A&M University. She earned an MS from Carnegie Mellon University and is an alumna of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Saintil was inducted as part of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s 2026 Honorary Member Class, alongside Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire, LaTanya Jackson, Salli Richardson Whitfield, Pauletta Washington, and Robin Washington.

The induction came as more than 25,000 members of Alpha Kappa Alpha converged on Las Vegas for the sorority’s 72nd Boule, its international meeting, held July 18 through July 24, 2026, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Convention Center. Under this year’s theme, “Soaring Together: Celebrating Our Impact on Service & Sisterhood,” the sorority anticipated as many as 27,000 members from around the world for a week of community service, leadership and educational sessions, business meetings, and celebrations of the organization’s history, all under the leadership of International President and CEO Danette Anthony Reed.

We at Watch The Yard would like to congratulate Merline Saintil on her induction as an Honorary Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

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