This article examines the personal and professional journey of Dr. Lily Bi, the president & CEO of AACSB International (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). Through three in-depth, exploratory interviews, the researchers examined how Dr. Bi’s lived experiences have shaped her into the leader she is today. Born in China during a time of significant political and social change combined with a career that spans continents and industries, Dr. Bi has a unique perspective and skillset to lead organizations in many different environments. This research analyzes how Dr. Bi's curiosity, drive, and leadership style position her as a transformative leader, capable of both stewarding and positively transforming AACSB International.

Data analysis via open and axial coding yielded a consequential connection to institutional theory literature and places Dr. Bi as a probable Institutional Entrepreneur (DiMaggio, 1988) within the leadership structure at AACSB International. Examination of AACSB International as an institutional organization with established traditions and norms is presented alongside empirical, in vivo evidence of Dr. Bi’s potential to break through the isomorphic iron cage in pursuit of ongoing, meaningful organizational impact. Further, the researchers posit an organizational model suggesting that organizations with high levels of institutional markers while simultaneously having high levels of entrepreneurship may define an ideal organizational culture.

In an institutional landscape where isomorphic pressures often stifle creativity, through entrenched norms and expectations, Dr. Bi’s story is a reminder that a driven, visionary leader can act internally as an institutional entrepreneur within organizations to create positive, transformational change.