Hello, I'm
Manwen Li
A visionary builder and innovation strategist with a rare blend of design, technology, human factors and science expertise. With a track record of launching transformational products and teams from the ground up, I thrive in ambiguity—leading high-impact initiatives across startups and global enterprises alike.
From pioneering digital material ecosystems to steering multi-billion-dollar innovation roadmaps, I bring deep technical fluency, creative leadership, and a fearless drive to turn bold ideas into scalable, real-world solutions.
About me
Born and raised in China.
A perpetual learner and a challenge seeker. Cultural divergence has become the cornerstone of my learning journey: I don't presume; I welcome ignorance as the genesis of new knowledge. I'm always happy to hop on a call—I'm biased toward action and passionate about problem-solving.
I'm incredibly patient in learning and iteration, but I'm unapologetically impatient when it comes to execution—I appreciate acting fast and adapt as we go. I care as much about the process as I do about the results.
I'm always eager to learn something new, tell me, right now.
Manwen's Decade, in a Nutshell
Over the past decade, Manwen has immersed herself in the rewarding process of building things from the ground up—across disciplines, industries, and continents.
She earned her master's degree at Cornell University, where she studied at the intersection of design, material science, and biomechanics. She once physically jumped into Cayuga Lake to experience rowing firsthand—just to better design flotation gear for elite rowers. Her work spanned leveraging cutting-edge technologies to develop protective solutions for firefighters, military teams, and agricultural and pesticide professionals.
She then joined a program launched and managed directly by the executive team of the world's largest sourcing enterprises in New York City, GBG USA(Member of Fung group then) where she led innovation POCs across sustainable sourcing, product development, and digital transformation. She evaluated hundreds of startups within the first year, ran a hackathon along with numerous design workshops, contributed to $63M business proposals, and built an internal R&D hub from the ground up. Among the projects she led, the fastest time from initiation to revenue was 4 month.
She then founded a sustainability-focus consulting firm, Close the Circle, and collabrated with international brands, manufacturers, and technology companies to build better practices by strategizing in sourcing, branding and pricing.
From there, she built Under Armour's first 3D material virtualization division from only an idea —shaping the vision, assembling the team, and managing $600K+ project budget. She also launched a yarn-level simulation research initiative through partnership and published a peer-reviewed paper at ACM SIGGRAPH —despite being the only person on the project without a computer science PhD.
Most recently, she spearheaded the largest material digitization pipeline in the architecture and design industry with Material Bank. Within 18 months, she built the team, physical operation, and technical pipeline from scratch, recruited 20+ global talents; she later expanded her scope to product management and launched net-new revenue streams from 0 to 1. During this period, she also completed a rigorous 10-month professional program of Technology Management, Roadmapping, and innovation with MIT.
Throughout her career, she has published multiple peer-reviewed papers across design, human factors, and computational simulation. She's spoken at international conferences and trade shows, and contributed thought leadership pieces to industry publications. Along the way, she's met brilliant collaborators, mentors, and lifelong friends who changed the course of her life.
She's grateful for the past—and deeply excited for what's ahead.
EXPERIENCE
Senior Director, Product Management
Lead the development and execution of the strategic roadmap for Material Bank's core product, driving innovation, revenue growth, and user adoption. Managed cross-functional teams to deliver new digital offerings and enhanced user experiences.
Senior Director, Digital Material Acquisition
As the head of material digitization, built the Digital Materials Acquisition strategies, 20+ people team, and technology ecosystem from scratch. Developed proprietary technologies and established high-performing rendering pipelines.
Senior Manager, 3D Material Virtualization
Led the Materials Virtualization Strategy, one of the four pillars of the Under Armour Digital Transformation initiative. Built UA's first virtual material library and technology platform to support Digital Product Creation at scale.
Co-Founder/Consulting Director
Launched a consultancy firm in the U.S. and China, serving as a bridge among international brands, suppliers, technology providers, and institutions. Led project execution and ensured timely delivery for multiple clients.
Creative Strategist, Product Innovation and Technology
Spearheaded the creation of a new product innovation team from vision to formation. Led material technology scouting, with the first commercial adoption generating sales of 44K additional units within 4 months.