Li Jacobson

Li Jacobson drives strategic vendor and financial management for Kohl’s Department Stores, where she serves as the Director of Ecosystem Management for the Kohl’s Technology division. Her scope and responsibilities include strategic sourcing, procurement, VMO, and the end-to-end contract lifecycle management, IT Financial Management, Quality Engineering for Kohl’s.

Jacobson works to align Kohl’s with the strategic technology partners that will drive the company forward and is responsible for key company initiatives that directly influence the bottom line. She leads large-scale negotiations with global and niche vendors while managing and supporting technology spend. Additionally, she manages the overall technology spend for Kohl’s, ensuring the optimization of the company’s technology investments.

An accomplished and passionate leader, Jacobson has 15 years of experience in IT strategic planning and execution. Prior to joining Kohl’s leading IT strategy, she spent a decade with Northwestern Mutual, where she provided integral large program management to multi-year technology initiatives, including contract negotiations, strategic roadmapping, program delivery, and cross-functional team management. 

Jacobson has a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) from the University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Marquette University.