An international sports industry veteran, Jay Li is the Founder and CEO of Realeague. Prior to Realeague, Jay was the Head of Strategic Development & Team Operations Division and Special Assistant to President Yao Ming at the Chinese Basketball Association. He started his career in New York, working for the NBA in Global Media Distribution and Global Partnerships. He currently also serves as the Managing Director of Joe Tsai Basketball Scholarship as well as an Executive Producer of Left-Hand Layup!, a popular basketball animated series on Tencent Video.

Jay received a Master of Management Science in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University and a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Media Studies from the University of Rochester. He was a Schwarzman Scholar and a member of the program’s inaugural cohort. He was the first scholar to be named as a PepsiCo Foundation Henry M. Paulson, Jr. Fellow in the history of Schwarzman College.

Jay was featured as one of the protagonists in CNBC’s 2017 documentary Billionaire’s Bet: The Best & Brightest. He was recognized as a 30 under 30 by Forbes China in 2018.