Albert Bourla
Albert BourlaTOM BRENNER/ REUTERS

The annual $1 million Genesis Prize, dubbed the “Jewish Nobel” by TIME magazine, will be given this year to the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, the Genesis Prize Foundation announced on Wednesday morning.

The prize honors extraordinary individuals for their outstanding professional achievement, contribution to humanity, and commitment to Jewish values.

Bourla received the highest number of votes in a recently concluded global campaign, in which more than 200,000 people from 71 countries voted. His selection was unanimously approved by the Genesis Prize Foundation Select Committee. The award will be presented to Bourla by President Isaac Herzog at a ceremony to be held in Jerusalem in June.

The committee praised Dr. Bourla for his leadership and willingness to take big risks, such as when he chose to decline a federal subsidy from the US government for developing the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in order to avoid government bureaucracy and accelerate development and production of the vaccine.

The Pfizer CEO responded to the win and said, "I look forward to coming to Jerusalem and receiving this honor, which symbolizes the victory of science and the great hope for the future."

"I did not wish to be a public figure and could not have imagined that one day I would have the honor of being the recipient of the Genesis Prize, and stand in line with the other exceptional candidates," Bourla added. "I humbly accept the award and on behalf of my colleagues at Pfizer, who responded to the urgent call of history over the past two years and together we have managed to change the course of our common destiny. I grew up in a Jewish family that believed that each of us was just as strong as the connections in our community and that we were all commanded from heaven to fix the world."

The winners of the Genesis Prize traditionally choose a philanthropic cause with personal significance to which they donate the $1 million cash prize. Dr. Bourla asked the Foundation to award the prize for the promotion of Holocaust remembrance and education, emphasizing the tragic story of the Jewish community in Greece, where he grew up.