George Pla

Biography

Mr. Pla is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and author whose business and civic activities focus on enhancing and empowering communities throughout California. He is the founder, president and CEO of Cordoba Corporation, a nationally recognized civil engineering program and construction management firm specializing in transportation, education and water and energy infrastructure.

Mr. Pla was raised in East Los Angeles, after arriving in the US undocumented from Zacatecas, Mexico. He was the first in his family to graduate from college, earning a B.A. in Sociology from California State University, Los Angeles, in 1972 and a Master of Public Administration from the USC Price School in 1974. 

He is the president of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, which is helping prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics. He served on the California Science Center Foundation Board of Trustees and led the planning of Cordoba’s historic transport of the Space Shuttle Endeavour through Los Angeles in 2012. He is a co-founder of the City Club, a private club in Los Angeles that reflects the diversity and spirit of the city.

Mr. Pla co-authored “Power Shift: How Latinos in California Transformed Politics in America,” which recounts the history of Latino political empowerment in California and beyond.

He is an inaugural member of Cal State LA’s President’s Council. In 1991, he was honored as Cal State LA’s Alumnus of the Year, and in 2016, he received the Joe Shapiro Humanitarian Award. In 2017, he was awarded the Presidential Medallion. The Board of Trustees of Cal State LA gave him the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in May 2023.