Stefano Pessina

Pessina was born in Pescara, Italy, in June 1941. In the early 1960s, he enrolled at the Politecnico di Milano, where he earned a degree in nuclear engineering. His career then turned to the chemical and pharmaceutical sector, starting with his family’s business in Naples, which later became Alleanza Farmaceutica.⁠[1][2][2][3][4][2]

In 1977, Pessina established Alliance Santé, a Franco-Italian pharmaceutical wholesale group, in Italy.⁠[5]

In 1997, UniChem merged with Alliance Santé to form Alliance UniChem, and Pessina joined the board of directors of Alliance UniChem.⁠[5]

From 2000 to 2017, Pessina served on the board of directors of Galenica AG, a publicly traded Swiss healthcare group.⁠[6]

From 2001 to December 2004, Pessina was Chief Executive Officer of Alliance UniChem, after which he became Executive Deputy Chairman.⁠[6][5]

In July 2006, two UK-listed companies, Alliance UniChem and Boots Group, merged to form Alliance Boots plc. Pessina served as Executive Deputy Chairman of Alliance Boots.⁠[7][5]

In June 2007, AB Acquisitions, jointly controlled by Pessina and investment funds affiliated with KKR, acquired Alliance Boots plc, then listed on the London Stock Exchange, in a private equity transaction. From July 2007 to December 2014, Pessina was Executive Chairman of Alliance Boots.⁠[7][7][5]

In June 2012, Walgreens and Alliance Boots announced a two-step strategic transaction; the first step was completed that August, when Walgreens acquired a 45% equity stake in Alliance Boots for approximately $4.0 billion in cash and approximately 83.4 million shares of its common stock. On August 2, 2012, Walgreen Co., KKR, and Pessina and his affiliates (together the “SP Investors”) entered into a shareholders’ agreement under which the SP Investors were entitled to designate one director nominee as long as their holdings met certain thresholds. Pessina became a director of Walgreen Co. in 2012.⁠[8][8][6][6][6][9]

On December 31, 2014, Walgreens completed the second step, acquiring the remaining 55% of Alliance Boots, and Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) was formed and listed on Nasdaq. AB Acquisitions was the principal seller in the second step.⁠[8][8][7]

In January 2015, Pessina became Executive Vice Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer of WBA; from July 2015, he served as Chief Executive Officer.⁠[8][10]

On July 23, 2020, Pessina and WBA entered into a letter agreement providing that the board would appoint him Executive Chairman on an annual basis as long as he remained a director.⁠[6][6]

On October 26, 2020, Pessina spoke about leadership and entrepreneurship in a course at Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business. In his view, true leaders show the way for others to follow and have the concentration to meet or exceed objectives; entrepreneurship and leadership are similar but not identical: entrepreneurship is about figuring things out, while leadership is about delivery, taking those conclusions and putting them into practice so they grow.⁠[11][11][11][11][11]

On January 26, 2021, WBA announced that Rosalind Brewer would become Chief Executive Officer effective March 15, 2021; Pessina stepped down as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice Chairman and in March 2021 succeeded James Skinner as Executive Chairman.⁠[12][6][12]

On March 6, 2025, WBA announced that it had agreed to be acquired by an entity affiliated with Sycamore Partners. The WBA Board unanimously approved the transaction with Pessina and director John Lederer recused from deliberation and voting. In response to Sycamore’s request in connection with arranging financing, the board, following Pessina’s recusal, authorized him to discuss with Sycamore the possibility of reinvesting his cash consideration, and after reviewing the proposal he agreed to participate in the acquisition as an investor.⁠[13][13][13][13][13]

Pessina and his holding company, which together owned approximately 17% of WBA’s outstanding common stock, entered into voting and reinvestment agreements with Sycamore and WBA: they would vote in favor of the deal and reinvest all of their cash consideration from the transaction, together with an incremental cash investment, into the acquiring company, thereby maintaining a significant equity investment in the businesses; they would also hold approximately 17% of the Divested Asset Proceed Rights (DAP Rights). After closing, the committee overseeing the disposition of VillageMD-related assets would consist of a representative of the pre-closing WBA Board, a representative of Pessina, and a representative of Sycamore. On July 11, 2025, WBA shareholders approved the deal, with approximately 95% of votes cast by shareholders unaffiliated with Pessina or Sycamore in favor.⁠[13][13][13][13][13][13][14]

On August 28, 2025, Sycamore Partners completed its acquisition of WBA. Part of the closing funds came from reinvestment by Pessina and his affiliated entities under the reinvestment agreement. Sycamore made the acquisition in partnership with Stefano Pessina and his family, who reinvested 100% of their interests in WBA, Walgreens, and The Boots Group. Pessina said his family had supported these companies for decades and was pleased to continue that commitment alongside Sycamore.⁠[15][16][15][17][18][15]

Before closing, Pessina resigned as a WBA director along with WBA’s other former directors; after closing, he, Stefan Kaluzny of Sycamore, and Kevin Burke became directors of the surviving company WBA. On the same day, he was appointed a director of The Boots Group Limited.⁠[16][16][1][1]

On January 26, 2026, The Boots Group announced that Chief Executive Officer Ornella Barra would retire on February 9, 2026, and replace Pessina as Chairperson of the Board, with Pessina continuing as a director. He said his family remained fully committed to The Boots Group. As of October 2026, he remains an active director of The Boots Group Limited.⁠[19][19][19][1]