Stefano Pessina (born June 4, 1941) is an Italian-born Monegasque billionaire businessman and the vice chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), and the single largest shareholder of Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Early life
Pessina was born in Pescara and grew up between Milan, Como and Naples.
He graduated from the Polytechnic University of Milan in nuclear engineering.
Career
In 1977, he took over his family’s pharmaceutical wholesaler in Naples and turned it into Alliance Santé, a Franco-Italian pharmaceutical wholesale group. In 1997, it merged with Alliance UniChem, and he joined its board of directors. From 2001 to 2004, he served as its CEO.[9] He served as deputy chairman, and later as chairman.
Pessina was chairman of Alliance Boots from 2007 to 2014 and a director of Walgreens until August 2014. He is a director of Walgreens Boots Alliance. He is a director of the Consumer Goods Forum.
Personal life
Pessina is divorced from his wife Barbara, and they have two children. He has been the partner of Ornella Barra, co-chief operating officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance, for over 30 years. As of February 2015, he is worth US$11.4 billion, owning around 15% of Walgreens Boots Alliance.
He has lived in Monte Carlo, Monaco, for many years. His son, a banker, works at Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Pessina is the chief executive officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance, a publicly traded drugstore operator. The Deerfield, Illinois-based company has more than 8,000 stores in the U.S. and had revenue of $118 billion in the year to Aug. 31, 2017. Walgreens completed its merger with the Pessina-led Alliance Boots on Dec. 31, 2014.
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