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The Genesis Prize Foundation’s Stan Polovets’ ability to navigate between established industries and cutting-edge innovation underscores his versatility as a leader and creates a better future.
Throughout his career, Stan Polovets has demonstrated an exceptional ability to navigate complex industries and drive transformational outcomes. From spearheading multibillion-dollar energy ventures to leading philanthropic initiatives that celebrate Jewish accomplishment, Polovets exemplifies strategic vision and impactful leadership. His trajectory through sectors as diverse as energy, finance, and biotechnology reflects his innovative approach to addressing challenges and maximizing opportunities.
Polovets’ early career laid the foundation for his energy and international finance expertise. He joined ExxonMobil as a financial analyst in the mid-1980s. There, he gained hands-on experience in the oil and gas sector before transitioning to senior roles at KPMG and Ernst & Young. During these formative years, Stan Polovets honed his skills in mergers and acquisitions, focusing on Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union as they opened to foreign investment.
In the 1990s, Polovets emerged as a key figure in Russia’s evolving energy landscape. As founder and CEO of the Russian Petroleum Investor Group, he facilitated significant foreign investments in the region’s oil and gas projects. His unique set of skills and relationships made him a sought-after adviser to CEOs of multinational energy firms and government leaders, including Turkmenistan’s oil minister and the head of Lithuania’s national energy company. Polovets was critical in attracting international partnerships, positioning Turkmenistan as a key player in the Caspian energy market, while helping lift Russia’s oil embargo on Lithuania after the country declared its independence from the Soviet Union.
Stan Polovets’ tenure at Russian oil company TNK (later TNK-BP) from 2001 to 2007 marked a turning point in his career. Tasked with negotiating the merger between Tyumen Oil Company and British Petroleum, he helped facilitate the largest corporate transaction in Russian history. The deal resulted in TNK-BP becoming one of the world’s leading vertically integrated oil companies.
The following year, Polovets took over as CEO of the Alfa-Access-Renova Consortium, where he oversaw a global energy portfolio valued at over $25 billion. His leadership in managing this expansive operation solidified his reputation as a guiding force in the energy sector and led to several additional roles, including lead nonexecutive director at L1 Energy (U.K.) and CLAL Industries (Israel), and chairman for Eastern Europe at Edelman.
In 2020, Stan Polovets entered the biotechnology space as chairman of Anchiano Therapeutics, a Nasdaq-listed American company focused on innovative cancer treatments. Under his guidance, the company successfully merged with Chemomab Therapeutics (Israel), delivering a remarkable 630% return to shareholders within a year. This pivot to biotech demonstrated Polovets’ adaptability and ability to bring strategic value to diverse industries across many different geographies.
Stan Polovets: Driving Philanthropy and Jewish Excellence
While Polovets’ corporate achievements are significant, his work with The Genesis Prize Foundation exemplifies his commitment to leveraging influence for social good. When he co-founded the organization in 2013, Polovets and his partners envisioned a platform to honor Jewish individuals who have achieved professional success while also making remarkable contributions to society. The Genesis Prize celebrates excellence while fostering philanthropic contributions.the past decade.
Polovets excels at forging strategic partnerships that amplify the
Under Stan Polovets’ chairmanship, the foundation introduced a transformative model. Each laureate receives a $1 million award, which they redirect to causes of their choice. The impact of these contributions is often multiplied by collaborating with matching donors, resulting in over $50 million in grants to more than 230 organizations across 31 countries over foundation’s impact. The Genesis Prize Foundation used collaborations through organizations such as the Jewish Funders Network and Matan-United Way Israel to raise additional funds for its philanthropic initiatives.
Stan Polovets’ strategic approach ensures that the foundation addresses timely and critical issues. From combating antisemitism and supporting vulnerable populations to advancing women’s equity and environmental sustainability, the Genesis Prize values purpose-driven philanthropy.
The Genesis Prize: Honoring History, Building the Future
Polovets’ commitment to highlighting important issues is illustrated by his recent visit to an old railway station in Thessaloniki, Greece, where tens of thousands of Greek Jews were deported to Nazi death camps in 1943. Polovets was joined by global leaders, including German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, to honor the memory of Thessaloniki’s Jewish community at the groundbreaking ceremony for Greece’s first Holocaust museum. The museum is funded in part by 2022 Genesis Prize laureate — and Pfizer chairman and CEO — Dr. Albert Bourla’s decision to direct his $1 million Genesis award to the project.
“The Holocaust Museum of Greece will pay tribute not just to the Jews of Thessaloniki but to all 38 Jewish communities that existed before the war,” Polovets explains. “It will showcase the culture of the Thessaloniki Jews and their multifaceted contributions to the city’s development. Through permanent and temporary exhibitions and archives, the Holocaust Museum will underscore the importance of Holocaust remembrance, diversity, human rights, and freedom.”
Bourla’s choice to support this museum in his birthplace is just one of many examples of how winners of the Genesis Prize transform personal recognition into meaningful community impact.
“Our donation in honor of Dr. Bourla clearly aligns with The Genesis Prize Foundation’s mission and vision by inspiring Jewish pride, highlighting 2,800 years of contributions by the Greek Jewish community — the oldest Jewish community in Europe — and helping ensure the Jewish community remains strong and vibrant, aware of its history while looking to the future. Additionally, it reinforces our commitment to educating others about the horrors and ramifications of all forms of hate, particularly in the face of rising global antisemitism,” says Stan Polovets.
Scheduled for completion in 2026, the Holocaust Museum of Greece is an example of the philanthropy’s enduring power and the importance of confronting hate through education. Initiatives like this highlight Stan Polovets’ talent for innovating at scale and ensuring that history informs a better future.
