Prize winner booklet for the Reinhard Mohn Prize 2020

Nechemia (“Chemi”) J. Peres, chairman of the Board of Directors of Israel’s Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, is the recipient of the Reinhard Mohn Prize 2020. In presenting the Reinhard Mohn Prize 2020 to Nechemia Peres, we recognize his outstanding commitment to promoting innovation that serves the economy and society in equal measure.

With great foresight and a broad international network of partners, Chemi Peres has, for years, promoted innovation in key areas such as entrepreneurship, healthcare, industry, the environment and sports. Much of this he has done through the activities of the Peres Center. Through his work, his diplomatic acumen, and his capacity for empathy, Chemi Peres continues the legacy of his father, Shimon Peres, who founded the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in 1996 to foster innovation and economic progress in Israel. The Peres Center also works to promote peaceful coexistence among all citizens of Israel, as well as lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors across the Middle East.

In addition, Chemi Peres is a champion of the “innovation and start-up nation” Israel. He has helped several innovative start-up companies achieve regional and international success, promoting and supporting them through his position as head of the Pitango Fund and his other activities. Driven by the deep conviction that innovation can bring peace while fostering societal development, his efforts to advance this vision have impacted communities across and beyond the Middle East.