Jun-Sheng Li survived famine, political persecution, and exile to reach Georgia Tech from China. Now, he is reshaping the U.S. transportation industry from his office in Lowell, Arkansas.

Already president of the logistics division of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, the nation's largest publicly traded carrier, Li was also named executive vice president of integrated solutions for the transportation giant in 1998. Li, who received his master's in IE in 1986 and his doctorate in 1989, built the logistics division of Schneider National of Green Bay, Wisconsin, before joining Hunt. He has transformed Hunt's fledgling logistics operation into the fastest-growing division of the company, with some of the largest logistics contracts in the nation, including J.C. Penney, Wal-Mart, and Target.

Li's rise to the top of his profession was not the traditional climb up the corporate ladder. Born in China in 1958, Li and his family endured physical labor, famine, and hunger after his father was imprisoned for writing articles critical of the government. Forbidden to attend national university, he educated himself in science and English until Mao Tse-Tung's death opened the doors to further opportunity in China. Even then, he was forced to major in English, and later earned a master's in business administration. Along the way he studied under Dr. John Bartholdi (ISyE Professor).

Li taught management science before accepting a scholarship to Georgia Tech in 1985. At Tech, he was presented the Institute's prestigious Wunch Award and was named Outstanding Young Engineer in 1995.

But the proudest moment of his life came in November 1998 when, as a naturalized American citizen, he cast his first ballot. Li and his wife live in Springdale, Arkansas, with their two children.