Stefano Pessina

Stefano Pessina (born 4 June 1941) is an Italian-Monegasque billionaire businessman and the vice chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), and the largest single shareholder of Walgreens Boots Alliance.[2][3]

Stefano Pessina
Born (1941-06-04) 4 June 1941
Pescara, Italy
EducationPolytechnic University of Milan (BS)
Net worthUS$10.3 billion (February 2020)[1]
TitleVice Chair and CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance
Term2015–present
Spouse(s)Barbara Pessina (divorced)
Partner(s)Ornella Barra
Children2

Early life

Pessina was born in Pescara and grew up between Milan, Como and Naples.[4][5]

He graduated from the Polytechnic University of Milan in nuclear engineering before starting his career in academia and later joining market research firm ACNielsen in Milan. He wanted to be a nuclear physicist, but was discouraged by the tumultuous political climate of 1970s.[2][6][7]

Career

In 1977, Pessina took over his family's pharmaceutical wholesaler (possibly Petrone Group) in Naples, Italy, and turned it into Alliance Santé, a Franco-Italian pharmaceutical wholesale group.[8] In 1997, it merged with Alliance UniChem.[2][8] From 2001 to 2004, he served as its CEO.[8] He served as deputy chairman, and later as chairman. The company merged with Boots Group PLC in 2006 and was taken private in July 2007.[8][2] Pessina was chairman of Alliance Boots from 2007 to 2014 and currently serves as Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.[2] Pessina is a director of Walgreens Boots Alliance.[8][9] He is a director of the Consumer Goods Forum.[2][10]

In a 31 January 2015 interview for The Sunday Telegraph, Pessina commented on the prospect of Britain's Labour Party winning the UK general election in May 2015, "If they acted as they speak, it would be a catastrophe ... The problem is would they act that way or not? One thing is to threaten and to shout but it is completely different to be in charge and to manage the country day-to-day." He described Labour's business policies as "not helpful for business, not helpful for the country and in the end it probably won’t be helpful for them".[11] The Sunday Telegraph noted that Pessina "declined to elaborate on which specific policies he disliked".[11]

On Sunday 1 February, Labour's shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna, responded in The Independent, "The British people and British businesses will draw their own conclusions when those who don’t live here, don’t pay tax in this country and lead firms that reportedly avoid making a fair contribution in what they pay purport to know what is in Britain’s best interest."[12] On 2 February, in a live Q&A session with Sky News, the Labour Party leader Ed Miliband said, "The chairman of Boots lives in Monaco and doesn't pay British taxes ... I don't think people should take kindly to being told how to vote by someone who avoids paying his taxes."[13]

On 2 February, Walgreens Boots Alliance stated, "The comments made by Stefano Pessina were a small part of a much larger conversation and have been taken out of context ... Stefano Pessina was expressing his personal views only and is not campaigning against Ed Miliband or the Labour Party."[14] On 6 February, Allister Heath, deputy editor of The Telegraph, described the "attacks" by Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians on Pessina, "one of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs", as being "as nonsensical as they were indefensible".[15]

In July 2020, it was announced that Pessina would step down as CEO of WBA to take a "less hands on role" and replace Jim Skinner as executive chairman.[16]

Personal life

Pessina is the partner of Ornella Barra since 1985; she is co-chief operating officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance.[17]

Pessina was previously divorced and has two adult children.[18]

Awards and honors

References
  1. "Bloomberg Billionaires Index - Stefano Pessina". Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  2. "About Stefano Pessina". Stefanopessina.com. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  3. "Walgreens Boots Alliance | Walgreens Boots Alliance". www.walgreensbootsalliance.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014.
  4. "Stefano PESSINA". Companies House. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  5. Hooper, John. "The secretive world of the Italian tycoon who is stalking Boots". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  6. Sideri Massimo, Pessina, signore delle farmacie che tenta la scalata in Europa, Corriere della Sera, 1/2/2014
  7. Vandevelde, Mark; Crow, David. "Stefano Pessina: the dealmaker eyeing the world's largest buyout". Financial Times. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  8. "Stefano Pessina". Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  9. "Today's Stock Market News and Analysis". Nasdaq.com. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  10. "History of The Consumer Goods Forum". Theconsumergoodsforum.com. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  11. Ruddick, Graham (31 January 2015). "Labour government will be catastrophic for Britain, warns Boots boss". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  12. Bawden, Tom (1 February 2015). "Boots boss Stefano Pessina (who lives in Monaco) branded a 'disgrace' for attack on Ed Miliband". The Independent. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  13. "SUBC: Miliband Attacks Boots Boss Over Tax". Sky News. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  14. Grice, Andrew (2 February 2015). "Ed Miliband: 'Boots boss Stefano Pessina should pay his taxes'". The Independent. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  15. Heath, Allister (6 February 2015). "These attacks against Stefano Pessina are unfair and must end". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  16. "Subscribe to read | Financial Times". www.ft.com. Retrieved 8 October 2020. Cite uses generic title (help)
  17. "Work is the drug that keeps Boots billionaire on song". The Sunday Times. November 2012.
  18. "Ornella Barra dalla Liguria all'impero globale delle farmacie". Repubblica.it. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  19. "Decorazioni a Monaco". Royal Monaco.
  20. "NIAF 41st Anniversary Gala Review". National Italian American Foundation.
  21. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  22. "2017 Summit Highlights Photo: Council member General David H. Petraeus, USA presents the Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award to the CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Stefano Pessina, during a ceremony at Claridge's Hotel in Mayfair, London". American Academy of Achievement.
  23. "2018 Hall of Fame Inductees". World Retail Congress.
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