OREANDA-NEWS. General Motors CIS was selected as the 2007 winner of the fifth annual Award for Excellence in Foreign Investment, sponsored by Alfa-Bank and the Oxford Said Business School, the Alfa Bank press center informs.The Award honors a foreign firm that is conducting business successfully in Russia, while at the same time contributing to a broader improvement of Russia's business culture and society as a whole. Alfa-Bank President Petr Aven presented the Award at a gala reception organized by Alfa-Bank and attended by over 100 prominent business, political and media leaders. The Ceremony took place at the Reception House of Ministry Foreign Affairs, Russian Federation. The Keynote Address was delivered by Donald Rumsfeld, the U. S. Secretary of Defense (1975-1977 and 2001-2006).

In announcing the Award, Mr Aven noted: "General Motors ranks among the global leaders in the automotive industry. It is the world's largest automaker and has been the annual global industry sales leader for 76 years. In Russia and the CIS, which is rapidly becoming one of General Motors most important markets, General Motors has shown a strong commitment to Russia and has developed management, manufacturing and marketing practices which have made its product line, especially the Chevrolet Niva, among the most successful in the country.

A distinguished jury appointed by Alfa-Bank and the Oxford Said Business School determined the recipient of the award. Jury members for the 2007 Award were: Petr Aven (President of Alfa-Bank), Richard Burt (Former US Ambassador to Germany), Yegor Gaidar (Director, Institute for the Economy in Transition), and Dana Brown (Oxford Said Business School).