HURVITZ, ELI

HURVITZ, ELI (1932– ), Israeli industrialist, founder and chairman of Teva, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies for generic medicines in the world. Hurvitz was born in Israel and served in the IDF during the War of Independence. Later he went to kibbutz Tel Kaẓir as part of his Naḥal service . He received a B.A. in economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1953 he joined the Asia pharmaceutical company, where in 1976 he became CEO. As CEO of Asia he initiated a series of mergers among Israeli pharmaceutical companies to create Teva. As president and CEO of Teva for 25 years he made the company into a global giant with 14,000 employees and factories all over the world. In 2002 Hurvitz retired from the presidency and management of Teva and became its chairman. In 2004 the company's sales reached $4.8 billion. By the end of 2005 Teva had nearly completed its acquisition of the IVAX Corporation, another giant producer of generics as well as branded pharmaceuticals. The price tag was a reported $7.4 billion. Hurvitz's commitment to Israeli industry and society led him to assume several public positions. From 1974 to 1977 he was the chairman of the Israeli Export Institute. In 1981 he served as the president the Manufacturers Association, a position he held until 1986. During that time Israel faced an economic crisis, and Hurvitz contributed to the crystallization of a national economic plan. In 1986–87 he was chairman of Bank Leumi. From 1989 to 1992 he was chairman of the Jerusalem Development Authority, and between 1989 and 1995 he was on the board of the Weizmann Institute. From 1991 to 1995 he was on the advisory council of the Bank of Israel and from 2001 a member of the board of Tel Aviv University. He is also a member of the International Council of Harvard University, chairman of the board of the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), chairman of the board of Neuro Survival Technologies   Ltd. (NST) (a private company), a member of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a director of Vishay Intertechnology and of Koor Industries Ltd. Hurvitz received several prizes for his industrial and public activity, crowned by the Israel Prize in 2002 for special contribution to the State of Israel. (Shaked Gilboa (2nd ed.)