The legendary former CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical IndustriesLtd., Eliyahu "Eli" Hurvitz, the man considered responsible for the company's unbounded success, passed away Monday night. Hurvitz died after a difficult battle with a terminal illness, and was admitted to the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer last week in critical condition. Hurvitz was 79. Hurvitz was one of the best-respected executives in the history of Israeli industry. In addition to being the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. for over 26 years, he also served as chairman of the corporation's board of directors for eight years. Hurvitz also spearheaded trade organizations like the Israel Export Institute. Born in Jerusalem in 1932, Hurvitz and his family moved to Tel Aviv as the War of Independence broke out. The young Hurvitz abandoned his high school studies and joined the IDF. As a youth group member after the war, Hurvitz was one of the founding members of Kibbutz Tel Katzir along the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In an interview conducted when he received his 2002 Israel Prize for lifetime achievement and special contribution to society and the state, Hurvitz recounted how in the interview for his first position at Assia Chemical Labs Ltd., they asked him what skills he possessed "Other than driving a tractor, none," he said. Assia hired Hurvitz as a washer of lab equipment. At the same time, Hurvitz enrolled in the Economics department of the Tel Aviv branch of the Hebrew University. Hurvitz showed great potential from the start of his career, and quickly rose through the corporate ranks at Assia, getting involved in business mergers and acquisitions. Hurvitz also became personally connected to Assia, marrying the daughter of one of the company's managing partners, Dalia Solomon. In 1969 Assia acquired another pharmaceutical company, Teva, and in 1976 Hurvitz merged all the companies operating under its control into a single corporation under the name Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Hurvitz then became CEO of this newly expanded company. He later went on to head the Israel Manufacturers Association and Bank Leumi. Hurvitz received many awards and accolades in recognition of his work, including honorary doctorates from the Technion, Weizmann Institute, Ben-Gurion University and Tel Aviv University. Despite repeated entreaties, he refused to enter the political arena. One of Teva's major accomplishments under Hurvitz's leadership was its development of the drug Copaxone, designed to treat multiple sclerosis (MS). The drug was developed at the Weizmann Institute by professor Ruth Arnon, with Teva leading the drug through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process in 1996. The drug has since earned billions of dollars in profits for Teva, becoming the world's best-selling MS drug. "Eli Hurvitz was one of the great industrialists who established the state of Israel," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday. "He was noble, a total patriot and very dedicated to developing the Israeli economy and society. I learned much from him. I admired his wisdom and achievements. I loved his warm personality. There was no better ambassador for entrepreneurship and the Israeli spirit than him." "I bow my head to the late Eli Hurvitz," said Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, "a giant of Israeli enterprise and industry. He was a visionary man in every sense of the word." The Teva Pharmaceutical Industries web site eulogized their late CEO as well. "Under Eli Hurvitz's strategic leadership," it read, "and by adopting and internalizing a corporate culture of excellence, Teva became the largest pharmaceutical company in Israel, and the global leader in generic pharmaceuticals." Hurvitz is survived by his wife, three children, and nine grandchildren.
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