Ben-Gurion Leadership Award

The Ben-Gurion Leadership Award honors forward-looking visionaries who not only possess vision but work to make their vision a reality.

2016

H.E. José Ángel Gurría

Mexico

Secretary General of the OECD

Photo: Dani Machlis

José Ángel Gurría is a remarkable leader and Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He is committed to strengthen intercultural understanding, mutual respect and international cooperation. A visionary, he has made essential contributions to extending the OECD's influence in many fields and has bolstered its ties with emerging economies and opened its doors to new partners, including Israel. Gurría is an accomplished statesman, member of the Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences of Spain, who while serving in ministerial positions in Mexico, led his country in the spirit of consensus, dialogue and economic prosperity. He makes tireless efforts on behalf of numerous noble causes, including advancing economic growth and the reduction of economic inequality, battling poverty, and ensuring access to water for all people, for the benefit of all humankind.

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2014

Shimon Peres

Israel

President of the State of Israel

Photo: Dani Machlis

Shimon Peres is a man of vision and action, who made a tireless contribution to the building of the State of Israel and the defense of its citizens. He has played a pivotal role in key positions in the Ministry of Defense and the Israeli government, including its highest offices of Prime Minister and the ninth President of Israel. Peres is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, an exceptional statesman who believes in peace and seeks to achieve it. His work in the spirit of the legacy of David Ben-Gurion in harnessing scientific discovery for the enhancement of the economic and social welfare of the residents of the Negev has had a lasting impact on all peoples and nations around the world.

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ceremony

2012

André Deloro

France

Founder of the Adelis Foundation

Photo: N/A

Born in Cairo in 1933, Andre Deloro immigrated to France in 1950 and studied at the École Polytechnique and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (ParisTech) and became a world-class engineer. His first major project was the design and construction of an international port for export of liquefied natural gas in Algeria. The project that won him international recognition in his profession was creating a mega-hotel and business complex on the shifting sands of Saudi Arabia using engineering techniques that he developed. Deloro is an exceptional and enlightened man of vision, who has combined his generosity with a breadth of interests that has driven the development of the State of Israel. His vision – to encourage collaboration and investment in research and development – has had a huge impact on Israel. The Adelis Foundation which he founded supports work in solar, alternative and renewable energy, amongst other things.

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René Obermann

Germany

CEO Deutsche Telecom AG

Photo: Dani Machlis

René Obermann is a talented business leader and CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world. An entrepreneur, he has led Deutsche Telekom toward exceptional achievements, foreseeing the central role that the mobile phone and its unlimited applications would play in modern life. He is a man of vision who understood the potential of the Israeli hi-tech industry and recognized the innovation, courage and ability of the country's technology companies to turn ideas into reality, laying the foundation for the first center for research and development outside of Germany at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev – focusing on network security and customer data analysis – as well as making the historic decision to transfer its main operations and related activities to the Advanced Technology Park adjacent to the University. His work is carried out in the spirit of the legacy of David Ben-Gurion, harnessing scientific discovery for the economic and social welfare of all peoples and nations.

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Ben-Gurion Leadership Award

2016

H.E. José Ángel Gurría

Mexico

Secretary General of the OECD

Photo: Dani Machlis

2014

Shimon Peres

Israel

President of the State of Israel

Photo: Dani Machlis

2012

André Deloro

France

Founder of the Adelis Foundation

Photo: N/A

René Obermann

Germany

CEO Deutsche Telecom AG

Photo: Dani Machlis