About Charlene
For the past two decades, Charlene Li has been helping people see the future. She’s the New York Times bestselling author of six books, including her newest release, The Disruption Mindset: Why Some Businesses Transform While Others Fail, and Open Leadership as well as co-author of the critically-acclaimed book, Groundswell.
Charlene is an entrepreneur who founded and ran Altimeter Group, a disruptive industry analyst firm that was acquired by Prophet in 2015. She continues working at Prophet as a Senior Fellow. She was also a vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, worked in online newspaper publishing, and was a consultant with Monitor Group.
With over 20 years of experience in tech and business, she has been a respected advisor to Fortune 500 companies on digital transformation and leadership. Charlene also serves on the regional board for YPO, a global network of CEOs.
Charlene is a sought after public speaker and has appeared at events ranging from TED and the World Business Forum to SxSW. She has appeared on 60 Minutes and PBS NewsHour, and is frequently quoted by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Associated Press.
Charlene was named one of the Top 50 Leadership Innovators by Inc., and one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company. Charlene graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and received her MBA from Harvard Business School. She lives in San Francisco.
What Drives Me
For the past two decades, I’ve had the fortune to be an author and analyst, exploring and explaining the new world and society being created right before our eyes by new technologies. In 2008, right at the start of the recession, I started Altimeter Group, which disrupted the industry analyst world dominated by players like Gartner, Forrester, and IDC. And in 2015, Prophet acquired Altimeter, where I continue to work with the amazing group there, helping create disruptive growth strategies for clients.
That’s what I do. But what I live and work for is creating the “A-ha Moment”. It happens when someone is thinking through a perplexing problem and then comes that moment of recognition and understanding. A light moves across their eyes, followed by a smile. They move from being in a place of confusion, where something is happening to them, to a place of understanding, where they have agency over their situation. Helping leaders take that first step to having a sense of empowerment and optimism, tempered by the knowledge of the journey ahead, is what drives my work.
Biography
Publications & Recognition
Publications
- The Disruption Mindset: Why Some Organizations Transform While Others Fail publishing September 2019
- The Engaged Leader: A Strategy for Your Digital Transformation, March 2015. Independent Book Publisher Award, 2016.
- Seven Success Factors of Social Business Strategy, July 2013.
- Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead, May 2010. New York Times bestseller.
- Marketing in the Groundswell, June 2009.
- Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, May 2008, 2nd edition June 2011. Named by Amazon as one of the best business books of 2008.
Board Positions
- Jumpshot, Board of Directors, Audit Committee, 2018-present
- Harvard University Alumni Association, Elected Member of the Board of Directors, 2011-2014
- World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on New Models of Leadership, 2011-2013
- Poynter Institute, National Advisory Board, 2009-2012
- Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Santa Clara County, 1994-1995
Recognition
- LinkedIn Influencer, 2013 to present
- Top CX Influencers to Follow, Panviva, May 2018
- Top Business Thinkers on Twitter, CultBizzTech, December 2017
- Top Analyst Followed by Influencers, Apollo Research, June 2016
- Top 50 Leadership Innovators, Inc, November 2015
- Top 100 Social Media Influencers, StatSocial, February 2015
- Most Creative People in Business 1000 by Fast Company, 2014
- Top 10 Marketing Influencers named by LinkedIn, 2013
- Named by Fast Company as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2010
- Named by AdAge as one of its top 40 Women to Watch in 2008
- Named by NowPublic as one of the 50 most influential people in Silicon Valley 2008
More About Charlene
My Happy Place
This is one of those icebreaker questions — what is your happy place? I have two of them. One is being up high someplace, about to go into a free fall. My pulse is racing, my palms are sweating, and I’m anticipating that stomach-churning sensation of free fall. I used to have a season pass to the amusement park near me and would go during non-peak times to ride “The Drop Tower” over and over, without having to get in line again. My other happy place is right after I give a speech and people come over to share that they enjoyed it. I thank them, and then ask, “What was your takeaway?” Some have a quick response. But most hadn’t thought this through, and it’s a moment when they synthesize and put into words what they experienced. I am in my happy place when they share how they were changed, how they will think and do things differently going forward. I wish them luck because if I have done my job well, their palms are sweaty and their stomachs are churning in anticipation of the disruptive journey ahead.
SLow Foods
Cat Tricks
Experience is what you get when
you don’t get what you want.
— Charlene Li —