last word
TALKING CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY WITH
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
S teven Collis is the CEO of
AmerisourceBergen, a public-
ly-traded drug wholesale com-
pany with 2021 revenues of more than
$200 billion.

The Jewish Haverford resident is a
busy guy, but he makes sure to carve out
time for a cause close to his heart: Israel.

Over the years in the Jewish state, Collis
has helped open a children’s hospital
and worked with a school outside Tel
Aviv that works with troubled youth,
among other initiatives.

For his efforts, Collis has earned
a major piece of recognition in the
American Jewish community: the
Jewish National Fund-USA’s Tree of
Life Award, which celebrates human-
itarian and community work with a
particular focus on Israel.

Collis will receive the award at the
Tree of Life Gala on April 7 at the
Hilton Philadelphia City Avenue. Close
to 300 people were expected to attend,
according to the CEO. The event has
raised $300,000 so far for resettling
Ukrainian Jews displaced by the ongo-
ing war.

“It is a big honor,” said Collis, 60, of
the award.

Marina Furman, the executive direc-
tor of national major donor advance-
ment for JNF-USA, has known Collis
“for many years,” she said. She called
him “a big supporter of Israel and the
community at large.”
The CEO’s relationship with JNF-
USA, a not-for-profit organization
that focuses on “building a prosper-
ous future for Israel,” according to its
website, does include a history of giv-
ing. Collis estimated that he’s donated
between $150,000 and $200,000 to
JNF-USA over the years.

Furman, though, explained that
Collis earned the award for his support
of Israel, yes, but also for other reasons.

She mentioned his work at
AmerisourceBergen creating jobs, his
community projects and his character.

36 APRIL 7, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
“He’s an extremely humble person
who treats everyone equally,” Furman
said. “Really a person of great, great
integrity, which is probably the most
valuable quality, especially today.”
Collis moved to the Philadelphia
area in 2009 and became CEO of
AmerisourceBergen two years later.

He has grown the company to more
than 22,000 employees and helped dis-
tribute more than 100 million COVID
vaccines during the pandemic, among
other efforts.

He also helped establish the corpo-
ration’s foundation, which has distrib-
uted more than $7 million in health
care, community and education grants,
according to Collis.

AmerisourceBergen was doing com-
munity work before the foundation
started. But the foundation enabled it
to focus on specific efforts and commu-
nities consistently, as well as position
itself in the public eye as a company
that goes beyond its business to help
the communities it serves.

Collis said AmerisourceBergen is
“united in our responsibility to create
healthier futures,” and that the foun-
dation “really ties into our purpose.”
The company also donates to social
justice causes in “communities where
we live and work,” to charities that
offer financial aid to parents of children
with cancer and to Jefferson Health for
efforts that focus on underserved com-
munities, the CEO added.

All of those efforts helped Collis win
the Tree of Life Award, according to
Furman. “The award should go to someone
who serves as an example of what it
means to be a leader,” she said.

But the CEO was quick to add that it
wasn’t just his award. He credited the
people who have worked with him over
the years.

“It’s recognition for many people,”
Collis said. “People that have worked
hard. People that are passionate and
motivated.” Collis is excited to share the cere-
mony where he’ll receive the honor
with other attendees. It’s a live event
after more than two years of remote
gatherings due to COVID.

“It’s a chance to have a celebration, a
simcha,” he said.

After the simcha ends, the 60-year-
old is not going to sit back and start
thinking about his legacy. He’s too busy
trying to grow AmerisourceBergen.

The company does huge business
in Philadelphia, the Northeast in gen-
eral, North Carolina, Texas, the United
Kingdom and Europe in general. And
Collis wants AmerisourceBergen rep-
resentatives to have a leading voice in
conversations about how to transition
to a post-COVID world.

He wants his company to take the
lead in fixing the supply chain that got
disrupted during the pandemic.

“What the supply chain safety level
should look like,” he added. “Should
we be on-shoring drugs?”
But after more than a decade in
charge, Collis can at least take a second
to appreciate what he’s done.

“I have to be most proud of
AmerisourceBergen,” the CEO said.

“The growth of the company, the pur-
pose we have.” JE
jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com Courtesy of JNF-USA
Steven Collis