The award was presented by Jeff Koons, who gave a very sincere and warming introduction about his relationship with Krens. Koons gave a sweet nod to Krens as a visionary the art world as well as a compassionate friend, making sure to emphasize that chit-chat is definatly not his forte.

Thomas Krens joined the Guggenheim in 1988 and revolutionized the museum structure with brand expansion into markets such as Venice, Las Vegas, pinnacle Bilbao which revitalized the Basque region in Spain. Krens accepted the award, and followed with a persuasive presentation on the current development of the Guggenheim Abu Dahbi project, and the entire preposed arts and culture island of Sherga.