Danny Ayalon, Deputy Foreign Minister, was the keynote speaker at the Chamber Annual Award Gala Dinner held on May 22, 2011 at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, the Honorary Chairman of the Chamber, Hon. James B. Cunningham. Hundreds of Chamber Members, Israel's leading businessmen, and public figures, and business delegations from Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Texas, participated in the event.
In his speech, Deputy Minister Ayalon emphasized the importance of the business relations between Israel and United States. "The U.S. and Israel are natural allies, and economic relations constitute a large part of this relationship."
The Chamber Awards were presented to:
Alfred E. Mann, Chairman and CEO of MannKind and Bioness Corporations, for his generous contributions worldwide, including $100m donated to establish the Alfred Mann Institute at the Technion Institute in Haifa, as well as his contribution to Israeli high-tech and global medical devices industries.
Given Imaging, in appreciation for developing a revolutionary visualization tool, enabling physicians to detect disorders of the digestive system, based on miniature cameras placed in capsules to be swallowed; and its achievements in transforming from a start-up company to a global manufacturer.
Lockheed Martin, U.S. manufacturer of aircraft and defense systems, for dozens of years of industrial cooperation between Israel and the U.S. to the tune of more than $3 billion, working with more than 40 Israeli companies.
TowerJazz, a manufacturer of integrated circuits, which, by acquiring and merging with Jazz Semiconductor of the U.S., in 2008, succeeded in becoming the leading global specialty foundry, and the fifth largest foundry in the world.
Poalim Express, the local franchise of American Express, for its achievements in the Israeli credit cards market. Since 1995, the company issued about 350,000 cards, including the most exclusive cards - Centurion and Platinum.
The Ambassador’s Award was granted to Office Depot, a leading global supplier of office products and services with more than 1,200 employees in Israel, in recognition of its almost 20 years of contributions to Israel’s economy and society.
Participants in the event included past Presidents of the Chamber: Hanan Achsaf, Asher Halperin and Arie Maklef; Members of the Chamber's Executive Committee: Chemi Peres, outgoing Chairman of the Chamber and Managing General Partner of Pitango Venture Capital; Dan Halpern, Vice Chairman of the Chamber and co-CEO of Iftic; Irit Batat, Marketing & Business Development Director at American Express; Advocate Yossi Ben Dror; Shlomo Grofman, co-chairman of FaireFund; Rami Guzman; Zvi Neta, Chairman and CEO of Automotive Equipment & Cars (2004) Ltd. Booky Oren, Chairman and CEO of Oren Global Water Technologies; Sherwin Pomerantz, President of Atid E.D.I.; Gerry Stoch, President of New York State Trade Office; Ilan Tropen and Ishai Wureit, CEO of Gilad Government Relations & Lobbying; U.S. Embassy Officials, and many distinguished guests.
The event was sponsored by American Express, Automotive Equipment & Cars, Lockheed Martin and United Airlines.
