The Genesis Award Foundation has announced Dr. Albert Burla, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, as the winner of the Genesis Award for 2022. Dr. Burla received the highest number of votes in a recently concluded global campaign in which more than 200,000 people voted From 71 countries.
The public vote was unanimously approved by the Genesis Prize Selection Committee, which has nine judges.
The committee's rationale praised Dr. Burla for his leadership, determination, and especially his willingness to take big risks, such as when he chose to defer a federal subsidy from the U.S. government in favor of developing the corona vaccine (billions of dollars) to avoid government bureaucracy and expedite development. And the production of the vaccine.
As a result, Pfizer's vaccine for Corona was ready in record time: months instead of years.
In addition, the committee noted Dr. Burla's pride in his Jewish identity and heritage, his commitment to Jewish values and his support for the State of Israel.
The Genesis Award, dubbed by TIME Magazine "The Jewish Nobel" is an annual award, designed to elevate the miracle of extraordinary people, whose values they operate and their achievements, inspire the next generation of the Jewish people.
Every year, winners are selected on the basis of unprecedented professional achievements, their contribution to humanity, and their commitment to Jewish values.
Dr. Burla will be the ninth winner of the Genesis Award, one year after director and creator Steven Spielberg, winner of the award for 2021, and two years after human rights activist and statesman Natan Sharansky, winner of the award for 2020. President of Israel Yitzhak Herzog will present the Genesis Award to Dr. Burla at the ceremony Festive, to be held in Jerusalem on June 29 this year in accordance with the restrictions of the Corona and according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health.
According to the tradition established by the first prize winner Michael Bloomberg, the winners of the Genesis Prize for their generations each year choose a philanthropic theme with personal significance that is important to them and for this purpose they give the cash prize of $ 1 million.
Burla asked the Genesis Prize Fund to award the monetary prize for the memory and education of the Holocaust, emphasizing the tragic story of the Jewish community in Greece.
Burla, who was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, grew up in a family that experienced the horrors of the Holocaust.
His parents were among the last remnants of the Jewish community of Thessaloniki that was largely destroyed.
Burla responded to the win: "I did not wish to be a public figure and could not imagine that one day I would be honored to be a Genesis Award winner and stand in line with the other outstanding candidates. "We managed to change the course of our common destiny. I grew up in a Jewish family, which believed that each of us is just as strong as the connections in our community and that we are all commanded from heaven to fix the world.
Co-founder and chairman of the Genesis Prize Foundation, Stan Polovets, stated: "I am proud and excited to welcome Dr. Albert Burla to the distinguished family of Genesis Prize winners. Dr. Burla is an example and role model for two of the most important Jewish values: commitment to the sanctity of life. And to fix the world.
While the epidemic is far from over, millions of people are alive and well thanks to the achievements of Dr. Burla and his staff at Pfizer. This is a very proud moment, not only for Dr. Burla, but for the entire Jewish community.
Such a small nation has had such a huge impact on the global effort to save lives.
"Dr. Burla is one bright star within a glorious galaxy of outstanding Jewish scientists and doctors, who have been at the forefront of fighting the plague."
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