The "Globes" person of the year for 2015 is Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) CEO Erez Vigodman. Vigodman took over at the helm of Teva two years ago after the most severe crisis period in the pharmaceuticals giant's history, both within the company and on the market. Teva at the time was not far from being the target of a hostile takeover bid. Now it is a long way from that, as it returns to huge acquisitions with a deal worth over $40 billion, on its way to the next quantum leap.
"Erez Vigodman has led the company to a mega-deal that will reshuffle the cards in its industry, and will ensure its status as a leader in its field and its independence for years to come," said Globes editor-in-chief Haggai Golan in making the person of the year presentation.
At the gala opening of the "Globes" Israel Business Conference 2015, Vigodman said, "For me, this signifies the restoration of faith in Teva, the flagship of the Israeli economy. The credit goes to Eli Hurvitz." Vigodman referred to the late Eli Hurvitz who as CEO and later chairman led Teva to international status.
"Every company has ups and downs in its business life," Vigodman added, "What you need to know is how to extricate yourself from the downs quickly. In 2014 we dealt with defense and reconstruction. In 2015 we went over to attack on several fronts. First of all in acquisitions and mergers. The acquisition of Allergan's generics division is not just another acquisition of a company. This is a huge deal that will strengthen us in the coming years both in original drugs and in generic drugs. Allergan was our first preference from the beginning. After that we went on to another deal in Mexico and in Japan and to buying more technologies. These two years have changed Teva substantially, and position us at an excellent point for continuing the race for the coming years."
Vigodman did not forget to shower praise on "all the amazing people at Teva", its chairman, management "who lead the company as a team", and staff.
He stressed Teva's expansion: "When Teva completes the Allergan deal we will touch the lives of 250 million people around the world who will use a Teva treatment every day. This means that one in every five prescriptions made daily in the US will be for a Teva product, one in four in Britain, and one in eight in Germany."
Vigodman nevertheless stressed Teva's commitment to Israel.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 6, 2015
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