Lela Goren
Founder and CEO
Lela Goren is the Founder and CEO of The Plant. She believes in the power of community and feels that physical spaces can bring people together to create experiences that shift mindsets and nurture innovation. The Plant is an integral part of this belief, a place for people to come together to feel a sense of community, to create economic, social and environmental change that shape and solve global issues. A home to solve our planets most pressing issues. A home for climate solutions.
Lela has spent over 20 years as a real-estate developer and investor. She has developed millions of square feet of real estate in New York and globally, including mixed use, residential, office and retail in all phases of assembly, acquisition, finance, design, construction, sales and marketing. Lela is the Founder and CEO of The Lela Goren Group which was born out of her desire to envision and develop new chapters for overlooked buildings full of stories and rich with history. She has worked alongside communities to harness new resources and encourage revitalization while fusing the old with new, rural and urban, art and culture. Most recently, Lela worked as Chief Development Officer at WeWork, overseeing acquisitions, design, development and construction and later as Vice Chair with WeWork, one of the fastest growing companies in New York City history and globally. Before WeWork, Lela was Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development at Extell Development and later became the Co-Founder and CEO of the Extell NY Regional Center where she was Partner on numerous Extell development projects.
Earlier in her career, Lela worked at the United Nations, WIPO, where she clerked for former Judge Meir Gabay at the United Nations Administrative Tribunal. As an intellectual property lawyer with a Masters’ degree in International Law, Lela witnessed change happen, or not happen, during her years at the UN in Geneva and then in New York City. Lela believed then as she believes now, that positive change occurs when people are dedicated and passionate, which drives her vision for The Plant.
Her civil engagement work has earned her numerous awards including the 2013 Civic Spirit Award by the Women’s City Club of New York. In 2016 she was named the Women Builders Council Developer of the Year and in 2017, she was recognized for her social activism and awarded the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect Award.
As a former professional basketball player, Lela enjoys playing zone defense with her biggest passion, her three children.