# Stella Li

Executive Vice President, BYD. TIME100 AI 2026, Innovators. She joined BYD in 1996 to sell its batteries abroad, and became the first woman ever named World Car Person of the Year. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_Li))

- Born: 1969, Xiantao, Hubei, China ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_Li))
- Education: Bachelor's, Statistics, Fudan University, 1992 ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_Li))
- Career: BYD (Executive Vice President; CEO of BYD Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa, 1996 to now) ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/stella-li-08857a41b), [media.byd.com](https://media.byd.com/stella-li), [fortune.com](https://fortune.com/2026/06/15/stella-li-built-byd-into-the-largest-ev-maker-in-the-world-shes-not-done-yet/))
- TIME profile: https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/stella-li/
- Profile: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/most-influential-people-in-ai/stella-li

- Started out in international trade at a Chinese state-owned company from 1990 to 1996. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_Li))
- Joined BYD in 1996 as its export marketing manager, when founder Wang Chuanfu was still running a small operation. ([fortune.com](https://fortune.com/2026/06/15/stella-li-built-byd-into-the-largest-ev-maker-in-the-world-shes-not-done-yet/))
- Opened BYD's first overseas office in Hong Kong in 1997 and its first European office in Rotterdam in 1999. ([media.byd.com](https://media.byd.com/stella-li))
- In 2002 she won Motorola and Nokia as customers for BYD's batteries, years before the company was known for cars. ([media.byd.com](https://media.byd.com/stella-li))
- Became the first woman named World Car Person of the Year, in 2025. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_Li))
- Told Business Insider she wants humanoid robots in every BYD showroom, and sees home and service robots as a huge market. ([businessinsider.com](https://www.businessinsider.com/byd-stella-li-humanoid-robots-car-showroom-sell-evs-2026-6))