Company: Marvell Technologies, Santa Clara, CA
Entry Submitted By: Racepoint Global
Company Description: Marvell is a global leader in providing complete silicon solutions and Kinoma® software enabling the "Smart Life and Smart Lifestyle." From mobile communications to storage, cloud infrastructure, digital entertainment and in-home content delivery, Marvell's diverse product portfolio aligns complete platform designs with industry-leading performance, security, reliability and efficiency.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Products –More Than 2,500 Employees

Nomination Title: Weili Dai, President and Co-founder of Marvell Semiconductor, Inc.

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated entrepreneur since the beginning of July last year (up to 525 words):

Weili Dai, president and co-founder of Marvell, is one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in the world. She’s respected throughout the technology industry as a visionary, leader and role model. In addition to being the only woman to co-found a semiconductor company, Weili is one of the few female entrepreneurs in technology, proving women can break into male-dominated Silicon Valley and make a difference in the industry. Weili founded Marvell in 1995 with her husband Sehat Sutardja, and her brother-in-law, Pantas Sutardja, from their kitchen table. She made her first multi-million dollar deal by going through the Yellow Pages. Within five years, the founders were each individually named to the Forbes 400. With pure ambition and determination, she’s established herself throughout Silicon Valley and larger business community as a dynamic innovator, unrelenting entrepreneur and business maverick.

As a native to Shanghai, China, Weili is dedicated to strengthening relations between her homeland and the home she created for herself, her family and her company in Silicon Valley. Both inside and outside the Marvell walls, Weili is a driving force in expanding access to technology in the developing world and an ambassador of opportunity between the U.S. and China, particularly in education and green technology. Meeting with world leaders including President Obama and former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, Weili tirelessly works to promote the use of technology to improve the human condition, encouraging women to study and enter STEM fields.

Since 2013, Weili Dai has been recognized by Embedded Computing Design Magazine as one of the “Most Influential Women in Embedded.” Additionally, she has been honored with the New Silk Road Award by the California-Asia Business Council and the 2013 Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award by the Global Semiconductor Alliance. In 2014, Forbes named her as one of the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” for the third consecutive year. In addition to her individual achievements, Weili also partners with One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), sits on the board of the disaster relief organization, Give2Asia, and was named to the Committee of 100, an organization representing the Chinese Americans.

Marvell’s success is a clear indicator of Weili Dai’s experience and expertise as a female entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry. Her business acumen, strategic thinking, product leadership, endless passion and personal network have greatly contributed to Marvell's fast rise. Her close relationship with customers and the foundation of the trust shared with them has given her a strong reputation for professionalism and integrity throughout the technology industry. Weili has served a pivotal role in creating some of Marvell’s most important strategic partnerships and under her leadership, the company’s technology has become an integral part of many of the world's most important products in enterprise, communications, mobile computing, consumer and emerging markets.

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Provide a brief biography of the nominated entrepreneur (up to 125 words):

Weili Dai is one of the most successful female entrepreneurs worldwide and the only woman co-founder of a global semiconductor company. Since founding the company in 1995, Weili built Marvell into one of the top three fabless semiconductor companies. Weili built her business from the ground up, initially focusing on new circuit techniques which revolutionized data storage and high-performance, low-power chips. Her vision and understanding of the market has allowed Marvell to bridge the gap between the U.S. and China. Outside of the office, Weili is an active philanthropist, leading the company’s global civic engagements. For her contributions, Newsweek named Weili one of the "150 Women Who Shake the World" and she also was recognized by Forbes three times consecutively.