Viraj Puri

Co-Founder and CEO, Gotham Greens

Viraj Puri is an entrepreneur and innovator who has helped to advance the indoor urban farming industry and has paved the way for building commercial scale indoor farming operations in the heart of cities across America. Over the past decade under Viraj’s leadership, Gotham Greens has grown to be one of the largest and most commercially successful indoor farming companies in the world with nearly 400 employees and nine high-tech greenhouse facilities across six U.S. states. Today, Gotham Greens products are available in more than 2,000 grocery store locations and ecommerce in more than 40 U.S. states. He is deeply committed to weaving Environmental, Social and Government (ESG) principles into the DNA of companies and using the private sector as a force for positive change in the world. Prior to Gotham Greens, Viraj led start-up enterprises in the United States, India and Malawi focused on sustainable agriculture, green building, renewable energy and environmental design. He has been awarded fellowships from TED, Wild Gift and the Environmental Leadership Program and recognized as one of the “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2020” by Goldman Sachs and Crain’s NY Business “40 under 40” list. His work has been published in several books and journals, including “Innovation on Tap,” “100% Renewable: Energy Autonomy in Action” and the UN Academic Journal. Viraj is a LEED® Accredited Professional and earned a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University.