Michael Li (Shi Li) is a Managing Director at Locust Walk. He leverages his profound expertise in pharmaceutical and biotech strategy, corporate business development (BD), private financing, and transaction advisory to support clients across China, Europe, and the US.

Prior to joining Locust Walk, Michael served as a Founding Partner at MedHexagon Advisory, where he built close relationships with top companies and investors globally, offering clients a full suite of services including financing, BD, consulting, and ex-China commercialization amid the rising global approvals of Chinese biotech assets. Before MedHexagon Advisory, Michael served as Executive Director and BD Lead in China at LianBio, focusing on maximizing the value of the company’s pipeline, sourcing and evaluating global candidates with promising clinical potential, and designing creative deal structures to drive growth. Before LianBio, Michael was a Director at China Renaissance, where he successfully secured over 20 private financing deals in three years, raising more than $1Bn in total and building close relationships with top scientists and investors in China and Europe. He also gained extensive professional services experience as a Senior Consultant at Navigant, with stints in both Shanghai and London. Michael began his career as a Discovery Scientist at Evotec, where he made significant contributions to drug discovery projects, including designing active chemical products, improving reaction efficiency, and securing contract extensions worth millions of pounds.

Michael holds an MBA from Judge Business School, University of Cambridge (UK), an MPhil in Pharmacy from the University of Bath (UK), and a BSc in Pharmacy from Peking University (China).

Michael is a sports zealot, spending most of his spare time playing tennis, basketball, and running.