Company: Marvell Technology, Santa Clara, CA USA
Entry Submitted By: Racepoint Group
Company Description: Founded in 1995, Marvell Technology has operations worldwide and more than 7,000 employees. A leading fabless semiconductor company, Marvell ships over one billion chips a a year and its expertise in microprocessor architecture and digital signal processing, drives multiple platforms including high volume storage solutions, mobile and wireless, networking, consumer and green products.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Woman of the Year - Technology

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

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

Weili Dai, Co-founder and President of Marvell, is one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in the world, and is respected throughout the technology industry as a visionary, leader and role model. Besides 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 Sehat’s brother 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 the 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 has 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 and encourage women to study and enter STEM fields.

Since July 2012, Weili Dai has been recognized for her vast contributions to technology and society by numerous organizations. Newsweek named Weili among the “150 Women Who Shake the World,” and she was listed on Forbes’ list of “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” in 2012 and 2013. She also was awarded the Outstanding Leadership Award by non-profit organization, Upwardly Global, in 2012 and the Silicon Valley Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2013 by the Chinese Institute of Engineers. In 2013, Weili also was recognized by Embedded Computing Design Magazine as one of the “Most Influential Women in Embedded.”

As a member of TechNet, Weili has worked to reform the immigration system for highly educated and skilled foreign workers in the United States. Additionally, she sits on the board of the disaster relief organization Give2Asia and was named to the prestigious Committee of 100, an organization representing the most-influential Chinese-Americans.

Weili’s 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.

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

Weili Dai is one of the most successful women entrepreneurs and the only woman co-founder of a global semiconductor company. For her contributions to technology and society, Newsweek named Weili among the “150 Women Who Shake the World,” Forbes named her one of the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” and CNN International featured her throughout its Leading Women series. An active philanthropist and advocate for the better use of technology to improve the human condition, Weili leads Marvell’s global civic engagements, including a major partnership with One Laptop Per Child.