Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla Named 2022 Genesis Prize Laureate
Dr. Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, has been named the recipient of the 2022 Genesis Prize. The Genesis Prize Foundation announced the honor, a global award that celebrates Jewish achievement and contribution to humanity, which comes with a $1 million award that all previous laureates have chosen to direct to a philanthropic cause, on Wednesday. The prize committee approved the nomination unanimously, after Bourla came in first in a public global poll. Bourla, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine who holds a doctorate in the Biotechnology of Reproduction from the Veterinary School of Aristotle University, was born in Thessaloniki, Greece to parents who survived the Nazis, and will direct his prize to projects aimed at preserving the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, with a particular emphasis on the tragedy suffered by the Greek Jewish community. He has spent 25 years at Pfizer in a number of senior positions. The prize committee “commended Dr. Bourla for his leadership, determination, and especially for his willingness to assume great risks. Unlike CEOs of most other major companies working on developing COVID-19 vaccines, Dr. Bourla declined billions of dollars in US federal subsidies in order to avoid government bureaucracy and expedite development and production of the vaccine. As a result, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was ready in record time: months instead of years.” The committee also noted Bourla’s “pride in his Jewish identity and heritage, commitment to Jewish values and support for the State of Israel.” Bourla, who will awarded the prize in on June 29 at a ceremony in Israel, is the 10th recipient of the Genesis Prize. Previous winners have included film director Steven Spielberg; businessman and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; actor Michael Douglas; violinist Itzhak Perlman; sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor; actress Natalie Portman; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft; and former Israeli politician, human rights activist and refusenik Natan Sharansky.
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