Inspiring story of Albert Bourla: Chairman & CEO of Pfizer, USA

Pfizer’s brand-new Covid-19 vaccine, which has 90 percent effectiveness, has proven to be the biggest, most optimistic news by far in a year of mostly jaw-droppingly awful news. The much-anticipated discovery brought to the limelight the name of the pharmaceutical company’s Chairman and CEO, Albert Bourla. Dr. Bourla is a Thessaloniki native who left Greece at the age of 34 to pursue a career in the pharmaceuticals industry. Born in the northern Greece city on October 21, 1961, he is part of the long history of the Sephardic Jews of Thessaloniki.

The Bourla family arrived in Thessaloniki from Spain about six centuries ago. As jewelers, they created and sold diamonds, jewelry and watches throughout the Balkans, and built two important buildings in the city, one of which is the Moroccan Mansion. Albert Bourla is a descendant of the few survivors of the Jewish community of the city which was almost completely wiped out by the Nazis during World War II.

After graduating from high school Bourla went on to study at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He graduated with a PhD in veterinary medicine and worked as a veterinarian for a time. He joined Pfizer in 1993, first serving as a doctor of veterinary medicine and technical director for the company’s animal health division in Greece.

At the age of 34 he left Thessaloniki with his wife to join Pfizer Europe and work in several positions, coming to live in four different countries. He served as Pfizer’s Animal Health division president for Europe, Africa and Middle East during 2005–2009, followed by the Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific division during 2009–2010. He also worked as Group President of Pfizer’s Global Vaccines, Oncology and Consumer Healthcare business.

After working for Pfizer for 25 years, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer (COO) on January 1st 2018, and on January 1st 2019 he became Pfizer’s Chief Executive Officer.In addition to serving on the boards of Pfizer and the Pfizer Foundation, Bourla has served on the boards of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Catalyst, the Partnership for New York City, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. He is also a member of The Business Council and the Business Roundtable.

In April of 2019, Bourla was presented with the award for the most “Preeminent Greek Leader” of the global pharmaceutical industry by United States Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey R. Pyatt, at the Prix Galien Greece Awards ceremony.

Now going into the history over 80 years ago, in Greece sixty thousand Jews lived peacefully in Thessaloniki. It was a valued and vibrant community. Most of these Jews worked in the port. To the point that port of Thessaloniki was even closed on Saturday or Shabbat, the Jewish day when religion forbids working. Great emeritus rabbis also lived and studied there. Everyone hung out and liked each other.

But on September 2, 1939, with the outbreak of World War II, this peaceful community would one day feel the terror of the Nazis. On April 6, 1941 Hitler invaded Greece in order to secure his southern front before launching the famous Operation Barbarossa and his great offensive against Russia.Of the 60,000 Jews in Thessaloniki, around 50,000 were exterminated at the Birkenau concentration camp. The massacre of the Jews of Greece was brief but intense. Very few escaped. Among the survivors there was a family known as Bourla.

And after the war, in 1961, a son was born into this miraculous family in the camps. His parents called him Israel - Abraham. He grew up and studied veterinary medicine in Greece. A brilliant student, Abraham got his doctorate in reproductive biotechnology at the veterinary school of Aristotle University in Salonika. At the age of 34, he decided to move to the United States. He changed his first name Abraham to Albert and met a Jewish woman named Miriam who then became his wife.Together they had two children.

In the United States, Albert was integrated into the medical industry. He progressed very quickly and joined a pharmaceutical company where he became "Head manager". From there, the road was short for little Abraham (Albert) to rise through the ranks to become Chief Operation Officer before obtaining his appointment as CEO of the company in 2019.

Throughout 2020 Albert decided to direct all the efforts of the company to try to find a vaccine against a new virus which had just struck the world. He expended great financial and technological efforts to achieve his goal. A year later his work paid off and the WHO (World Health Organization) and US government authorized his company to produce the long-awaited vaccine.

Today this vaccine will be distributed in several countries including Germany, which counted thousands of deaths due to the pandemic. Ironically, this vaccine which will save the lives of millions of people around the world including many Germans was led by a little Jew from Thessaloniki, son of Holocaust survivors, most of his people were exterminated by Nazi Germany.

And that is why Israel became the first country to receive the vaccine. In memory of his grandparents and his parents who gave birth to Israel-Abraham Bourla known today as Albert Bourla: CEO of Pfizer! Albert Bourla (Greek: ?λμπερτ Μπουρλ?, born October 21, 1961) is a Greek veterinarian and the chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical company. He joined the company in 1993 and has held several executive roles across Pfizer's divisions. His story is indeed so inspiring being born in concentration camps of the holocaust he gave the Germans the vaccine to protect against Covid-19 which killed so many German nationals. Life has now come full circle. Cheers!