Blair Merlino

Blair Merlino has a diverse work experience spanning different industries and roles. Starting with their most recent position in 2022, they are the Cofounder, General Partner, and CEO of 9point8 Collective. Prior to that, they worked at Cogo Labs, where they held various roles including Advisor, Chief Operating Officer, and VP of Operations. As Director of Operations at Cogo Labs, they focused on creating and leading effective and scalable teams, driving revenue for the company's ventures. Blair also worked as an Advisor at Link Ventures from 2021 to 2023. Earlier in their career, they held positions at Deloitte, where they served as a Senior Manager, Chief Of Staff, Strategic Disruption and Innovation, and Data Analytics Manager, among other roles. Blair also completed an MS-MBA program at Boston University Questrom School of Business and worked as a Field Management Development Program Summer Associate - Internal Consulting at Liberty Mutual Insurance. Before transitioning to the corporate world, Blair served as a Special Operations Soldier in the United States Army Special Operations Command from 2007 to 2013.

Blair Merlino earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Messiah University in 2007. Later on, from 2013 to 2015, Blair pursued a Master's Degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) specializing in Strategy and Operations from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University.