Charlene Li '84, Distinguished Alumna 2024

Charlene Li ’84 possesses an extraordinary ability to see positive possibilities in change. It is one of the many reasons why she is considered the business world’s top expert in disruption, guiding an international roster of clients, audiences and readers through the powerful potential of embracing – and creating – change.  

 

In fact, it was a pursuit of change that brought her to Cranbrook as a sophomore in 1981. Looking for an academic and artistic challenge, she sought out the rigors of a Cranbrook education.

 

“As a student, I always loved learning,” says Li. Under the guidance of faculty members like Arlyce Seibert and Lolly Hazard, who Li calls “wonderful teachers,” she learned to embrace that curiosity.

 

It was Mrs. Hazard, she recalls, who taught her how to write. “I wasn’t very comfortable with words, but I loved my English classes,” she says. Another English teacher, Mrs. Fagenmeyer, gave her a copy of Strunk and White that she quickly memorized. She remembers, too, with fondness Dr. Fred Roth – “and his three pen colors for grading” – and Dr. Jeffrey Welch.

 

At Cranbrook, Li also pursued her musical passions. “I was a competitive pianist and would spend two to three hours a day practicing,” she says. “I would go up to Heaven (at Kingswood) and practice there.”

 

Li also showed a strong affinity for science and math, and hoped to become a doctor. Outside of class, she was an active student, joining yearbook and the school newspaper.

 

From Cranbrook, Li went on to Harvard, with enough AP credits in hand to create her own major as a freshman: neurobiology. “I wanted to do an MD/PhD to learn about intelligence and consciousness, but the science and technology had not advanced enough to let me do that.” She shifted her focus to an honors concentration in social science.

 

Much as she had at Cranbrook, Li took full advantage extracurricular activities at Harvard, including Model U.N. “I loved the leadership aspect of Model U.N.,” she says. “I loved creating a team, thinking about the direction of an organization, running things and starting things. That’s how I got into business.”

 

In the late-1980s, the path to leadership roles in business was not an easy one for women. And, the fact that, as her parents put it, Li was a “short, Asian woman and everyone in business is a tall, white man” concerned her mother and father, both immigrants from China.

 

But, Li says, she knew how to type 100 words a minute and because of that, “would always be able to find work.” That confidence was a comfort to her parents, who were deeply supportive.

 

Li earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, graduating in 1993 just as the Internet was making itself known. “I realized it was going to change the world,” Li says. “I looked at the content online and realized that journalism was going to be the field most affected.”

 

Running toward the unknown, she took a job at the San Jose Mercury News in Silicon Valley and worked to bring them online, one of the first newspapers to make that leap.

 

“I’ve been running toward disruption my whole career,” Li says. “I had this confidence early on that I could do things in a different way. (As a young person), I was often the only person of color in the room. I’m very comfortable being uncomfortable.”

 

She spent several years as a principal analyst at Forrester Research, focused on interactive advertising, search marketing and the rise of social media. In 2008, she launched Altimeter Group, to disrupt and challenge established analyst firms. After selling Altimeter, she joined PA Consulting, as chief research officer. Today, she leads Quantum Networks Group as well as a thriving career as an author, speaker and thought leader.

 

Li has provided guidance to some of the world’s best-known companies, including Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase and IBM. A highly sought speaker, she has taken the stage at the World Economic Forum, TED and South by Southwest. She has authored six New York Times best sellers including The Disruption Mindset, Open Leadership and Groundswell. Her latest book is Winning with Generative AI: The 90-Day Blueprint for Success.

 

Writing continues to be a passion for Li. “I hear from people who say (that something I’ve written) was transformational for them. It’s so humbling to hear that, to go to work every day and think it may help people or to know that I’ve made a difference.”

 

To young people just starting out, Li encourages them to “get over any fear of change or failure – failure is a good thing,” she says, adding that it can be the stepping stone to success.  

 

Li continues to move forward, ushering people toward the promise of positive change. “I like to give people an ‘a-ha’ moment,” she says. “I help them break through that complexity so that they can walk out a little lighter, more confident and excited to do new things.”

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