Jennifer Li is a Chinese business executive who has served as the chief financial officer of

Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; , meaning "hundred times") is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products and artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of the la ...

since March 2008. As of 2014, she is listed as the 95th most powerful woman in the world by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

''.

Early life and education

Li was raised in

Beijing, China } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. As a child, she dreamed of becoming an astronaut because it represented an "intellectual and physical challenge." She earned a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...

and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

Career

Beginning in 1994, Li held various positions in finance at

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

, working in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. From 2005 to 2008, she served as the Controller of GMAC's North American Operations (now

Ally Financial Ally Financial is a bank holding company organized in Delaware and headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The company provides financial services including car finance, online banking via a direct bank, corporate lending, vehicle insurance, mortgage ...

). In March 2008, she was hired as the chief financial officer of

. In addition to her role as the chief financial officer of

, Li also worked in the marketing and human resources departments and was involved in the company's mergers-and-acquisitions strategy. In April 2017, Li was named CEO of Baidu Capital.

Honors

* In 2016, Li was listed by

Fortune Magazine ''Fortune'' is an American multinational business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, owned by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. The ...

as 34th on the "Most Powerful Women" International list. * In 2012, Li was recognized by

as one of "Asia's 25 Hottest People in Business". * In 2013 and 2014, Li was listed as one of the "World's 100 Most Powerful Women" by ''

''. ** In 2013, she was listed as the 98th most powerful woman on the list. ** In 2014, she was listed as the 95th.

Personal life

Li is married and has 2 children. She has discussed the challenges of juggling the responsibilities of parenthood and professional life, explaining that she "

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

the house at eight am every morning and am still at the office at nine pm, so I seldom get to see

y children Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate Letter (alphabet), letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some auth ...

on workdays. But I try and keep the weekdays and weekends separate and aim to devote Saturdays and Sundays to them." She currently resides in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Jennifer Living people Women chief financial officers Businesspeople from Beijing 1966 births Tsinghua University alumni University of British Columbia alumni Chinese computer businesspeople Chinese chief financial officers