In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology leadership, few professionals navigate the dual paths of entrepreneurship and corporate data expertise with the finesse of Li Qian. His journey illustrates how a solid foundation in data science and AI can transform digital marketing infrastructure within major enterprises while driving substantial revenue growth.
Academic Foundation and Early Career
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Peking University in 2016, Qian made a strategic pivot into the technology sector. His first role at Wecash involved developing machine learning models for loan risk assessment, providing early exposure to fintech applications and establishing his data-driven approach to business challenges.
At Meritco Services, Qian expanded his expertise as a data scientist, conducting technical and data due diligence for over 10 Tier 1 domestic companies. This role required him to perform product design, data analysis, and data visualization while mentoring junior data scientists and analysts—experience that would prove invaluable for his future leadership roles.
Entrepreneurial Ventures: Building from the Ground Up
The entrepreneurial chapter of Qian’s career began with co-founding Luma in 2020, an educational technology platform delivering live-streamed coding courses. As Co-founder and CTO, he defined the MVP in collaboration with product managers, teachers, and designers while managing a full-stack engineering team. His hands-on approach included serving as the sole contributor to the backend infrastructure built on Python Django.
His second venture, InfinityGround (2023), pushed technological boundaries by integrating AI with Web3 technologies to enhance user engagement through gamification. Qian designed and implemented the entire AI system using OpenAI APIs and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) techniques, while establishing integrations with top-tier Web3 companies.
Corporate Leadership at Disney Streaming
These entrepreneurial experiences proved invaluable when Qian joined Disney Streaming in 2018. Starting as a software developer focused on big data, he quickly rose through the ranks—from Software Developer to Lead Software Engineer to Manager—demonstrating both technical excellence and natural leadership abilities.
Since 2018, Qian has been responsible for the team owning Hulu’s Nova system, the sole infrastructure supporting all Hulu marketing emails. This system has processed over 50,000 campaigns and delivered more than 100 billion messages, with a direct revenue impact of $500 million. Since February 2024, he has expanded his role to lead the New York-based team contributing to the unified messaging platform serving all Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ campaigns.
Under his leadership, the team achieved data feature parity with industry-standard products like Salesforce and Braze—a significant accomplishment that positions Disney’s internal messaging capabilities on par with best-in-class external solutions.
Leadership Excellence and Team Development
Qian’s leadership approach emphasizes comprehensive oversight of the entire development lifecycle, from software estimation and planning to implementation and maintenance. He has successfully doubled the number of full-time employees on his teams while improving efficiency by standardizing onboarding procedures, resulting in over 40% reduction in knowledge transfer time.
His technical expertise spans a comprehensive stack including Python, Terraform, Databricks, EMR, MWAA, Redshift, Spring Boot, and various AWS services. This broad technical foundation enables him to make informed architectural decisions that balance performance, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.
Community Engagement and Industry Impact
Beyond his corporate responsibilities, Qian remains actively engaged with the technology community as a hackathon judge for events focused on Snowflake technologies, Hypermode projects, and other innovative initiatives. This involvement demonstrates his commitment to nurturing the next generation of technology innovators while staying current with emerging trends.
Strategic Vision for the Future
The fusion of entrepreneurial vision with deep data expertise makes professionals like Qian increasingly valuable as organizations seek to transform vast data resources into tangible business outcomes. His career trajectory illustrates that in today’s technology landscape, the most effective leaders are those who can combine startup thinking with enterprise execution—turning data into revenue while building high-performing teams.
Qian’s journey from physics graduate to technology leader exemplifies how cross-functional expertise, entrepreneurial thinking, and data science mastery can drive both innovation and substantial business impact in the modern digital economy.
