David Gottfried

David Gottfried co-founded the U.S. Green Building Council and served as its first CEO, founded the World Green Building Council — now spanning 85 countries — and helped create LEED. That work catalyzed a global movement: billions of square feet of certified projects across more than 181 countries, and hundreds of thousands of accredited professionals.

Gottfried is Founder and CEO of Regen360 Inc., advising global companies on decarbonization, sustainability, and regeneration. He keynotes and leads workshops on regenerative strategy, and is launching RegenCircles, a global support network, later this year.

Previously he was Chief Commercial Officer of Blue Planet Systems, a carbon sequestration start-up. He spent two decades as CEO of Regenerative Ventures and its RegenNetwork, and held senior leadership roles in real estate development.

His new book, Regen360: An Operating System for a Regenerative Earth (Morgan James, October 2026), argues that civilization is running on version 1.0 — an operating system that counts everything except life — and offers a replacement: fifteen Earth Codes measured against one question. Does this increase Health on Planet Earth, or degrade it? Part memoir, part systems argument, it comes out of thirty-five years building the green building movement and the harder question of what comes next.

Gottfried is the author of four books. His earlier book, Explosion Green, won several Indie Book Awards and was a bestseller, and carried a cover endorsement from President Bill Clinton. He hosts the Regen360 podcast, and writes about regeneration and the second half of life at his DavidAGottfried Substack.

Gottfried holds a degree in Engineering and Resource Management from Stanford University, where he has lectured for three decades. His honors include the WorldGBC Global Green Building Entrepreneurship Award, the USGBC Leadership Award, induction into the Green Industry Hall of Fame, the 2025 NetZero/Metropolis Magazine Trailblazer Award and the USGBC Northern California Super Hero Award which was given annually in his name.

He serves on the advisory boards of USGBC California, the Smart Surfaces Coalition, My Superhuman Race (India), and Verdant Building Products.

Gottfried is a devoted father, painter, martial artist, fly fisherman, and cyclist — a five-time finisher of the Death Ride. He lives in the East Bay of Northern California with his labradoodle, Juneau.