The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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70 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2020 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? at UMass, I convinced my professors to allow me to do a six-credit indepen- dent study, an analysis on the Chinese sports marketplace," she noted. "I said, 'Give me six credits, I'll do the analy- sis, and on my spring break, I'll travel to China and interview a bunch of people in the Chinese sports industry and come back and write my paper.' Somehow, they agree to let me do it." Leung didn't have a single contact in China, but that didn't stop her. She traveled north to south, from Beijing to Hong Kong to Shanghai and be- yond, interviewing and working on her paper. "People were so open to meeting with me and talking about their ex- periences within sports in China, and how to grow that market," she said. "I met a very diverse group of people." It actually led to her first job in China at Zou Marketing Ltd. in Shanghai. Her work including help- ing bring the first-ever NBA games to that city in 2004. "It was an amazing experience," she said. "In fact, when I went to work for the NBA, in a lot of the meeting rooms, they still had a lot of images from those first games in China. It brought back a lot of memories." Some 18 months later, she was re- cruited by Helios, a strategic con- sulting agency focusing on Olympic work, to open an office in China. She focused on negotiating Beijing Olym- pics-sponsored deals, with Adidas, Samsung and many other interests. "I would consult and negotiate a number of the Olympic-sponsored partner deals," she said. "After they were negotiated, we would consult and advise the partners how to get the most return and maximize their investment in the Olympics. They were paying a lot of money to be a part of the games." Leung married along the way, and she and her husband decided on an- other move after six years in China. They ventured to London, where Leung did similar Helios work for another five and a half years. At that point, relatives back in the United States spoke up. Leung noted: "Our families were starting to ask us, 'So, originally you guys said you were only going to leave for a few years. It's been more than 10 years. Are you going to come back anytime soon?'" They did return, Leung turning her sights toward the NBA, where she worked four years as a vice president, beginning in 2015. Toward the end of that tenure, witnessing the unfolding Larry Nassar scandal involving USA Gymnastics troubled her deeply, so she volunteered to help the organization. Instead, they hired her as their new CEO. Her time in that job has been a whirl- wind, while she focuses on refashion- ing a belief in the organization, athlete safety, educational initiatives, con- structing a leadership team and more. "The main goals I have are re- building trust with the community," she said. "I've really been focused on outreach. I've now spoken with more than 700 members — athletes, including survivors, coaches, club owners, parents. "I've been really listening to them. That's been crucially important. We are a service-based organization that exists to serve our members. We have to talk with our members and under- stand what their needs are." She's back pouring herself into the sport that proved her springboard at Michigan, making it better and safer for the next generation. ❑ M ichigan Accomplishments: Competed in gymnastics at Michi- gan from 1991-95 … Performed on four Big Ten championship squads, and earned runner-up honors on balance beam in the 1993 Big Ten Championships … Earned Academic All-Big Ten honors three times. Professional Accomplishments: Worked for Zou Marketing Ltd. in Shanghai, helping bring NBA games to China and integrating the NFL and Electronic Arts into the nation … Worked for Helios Partners China, negotiating a Beijing Olympics sponsorship deal worth more than $20 million … Served as senior vice president and managing director for Helios Partners LLC in London, involved with planning negotiations for 2012 London Olympics partner- ships worth $50 million … Served four years as an NBA vice president, involved with marketing partner- ships and global integration … In 2019, became president and CEO of USA Gymnastics. Michigan Memory: "When I woke up from my Achilles tendon surgery, my assistant coach was by my side. He had waited there for me to wake up, because he felt so horrible about the injury I had sustained. Shortly thereafter, so many of my team- mates and my roommate, who was a Michigan field hockey player, and so many other friends from Michi- gan came by the hospital room. I ac- tually remember being very moved by their support." Education: Earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology in 1995 … Earned an MBA (2002) and a Mas- ter's in sports management (2003) at the University of Massachusetts. Family: Married to Christopher Smits, a Michigan alum. Li Li also has a twin sister, May May, who attended Michigan and also com- peted in gymnastics. The Li Li Leung File Leung has gone on to a successful career in sports marketing, where she worked closely with the Olympics, was an executive with the NBA and is now CEO of USA Gymnastics. PHOTO COURTESY LI LI LEUNG