Clara Shih

Clara Shih is the founder and executive chairwoman of Hearsay Systems, a social media platform for businesses. Clara is also the author of The Facebook Era and Social Business Imperative.

Shih began their career as an app developer for Faceconnector, an app that allowed sales reps to connect their social media accounts with their CRM accounts. Clara later founded Hearsay Systems, a social media platform for businesses.

In 2012, Shih joined the board of directors for the Ad Council. Clara served on the board for two years before joining Starbucks as the head of digital marketing.

At Starbucks, Shih led the company's digital marketing efforts, including the development of the Starbucks app. Clara also helped launch the Starbucks Digital Network, a website that provided free Wi-Fi to customers.

In 2020, Shih took a sabbatical from their work at Hearsay Systems to focus on their family. During their sabbatical, they wrote a book about their experiences as a mother which was translated into 13 languages and used as a textbook at global academic institutions including Stanford and Harvard Business School.

Clara Shih began their educational career at Buffalo Grove High School. Clara then attended the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. Clara went on to study computer science at Stanford University, where they earned a B.S. and an M.S. in computer science. Clara also studied systems & human-computer interaction at Stanford University. After Stanford, they attended the University of Oxford, where they earned a Master of Science in the Department of Education and Oxford Internet Institute. Clara also participated in the IES Chinese Language Immersion Program at Beijing Foreign Studies University.