Paul Polak

1933 - 2019

Polak, Paul
September 3, 1933 - October 10, 2019

Paul Polak was born in Prachatice, Czechoslovakia on September 3, 1933 to Hugo Polak and Marta Baum. His family fled to Canada in 1939 when Paul was 6 to escape the Nazis in WW II.

The family (Mom, Dad, Paul, and Alec) arrived in the small town of Millgrove, Ontario as refugees sponsored by the synagogue in Hamilton. The boys attended a one-room schoolhouse until going to High School in Hamilton, Ontario.

Paul received his MD from Western Ontario University in London, Ontario. He completed his Psychiatry residency at the University of Colorado where he met his wife Agnes Potter. They fell in love and were engaged to be married within 6 days. They happily married three months later.

Paul and Aggie made their home in Colorado where they raised three daughters, Amy, Kathryn, and Laura. He has two grandchildren Elena and Ethan. They are very deeply loved.

Paul practiced psychiatry for 23 years in Colorado. To better understand the environments influencing his patients, he would visit their homes and workplaces. He became inspired to apply what he had learned to serve the 800 million people in the world who live in extreme poverty. He accomplished that through the many projects and companies he has founded including
International Development Enterprises (IDE) - a non-profit organization that has brought nearly 50 million families out of poverty, The Design Revolution (D- Rev) - inspiring first world designers, engineers, and others to dedicate their talents to solving problems of the other 90% or customers typically ignored customers, Windhorse International, Transform Energy - replacing coal with alternative fuel sources, and Spring Health - safe drinking water initially in India. Many of these projects spearheaded by Paul is being continued by his friends and colleagues.

He has written two books: Out of Poverty and The Business Solution to Poverty.

He was an innovator, a trouble maker, and a visionary who will be sorely missed.