Stefano Pessina is Executive Chairman of Alliance Boots, an international pharmacy-led health and beauty group, and heads the Board and Group Operating Committee. Alliance Boots, privately owned since July 2007 when it was acquired by AB Acquisitions Limited (Stefano Pessina and certain funds advised by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts), was created as a result of the merger of equals between Boots Group PLC and Alliance UniChem Plc in July 2006.

Prior to the merger of Alliance UniChem and Boots Group, he was Executive Deputy Chairman of Alliance UniChem, before that having been its Chief Executive up until December 2004. Stefano was appointed to the Alliance UniChem board in 1997 when UniChem merged with Alliance Santé, the Franco-Italian group with interests in many countries which he established in Italy in 1977.

A graduate of nuclear engineering, Mr. Pessina started his career with AC Nielsen market research in Milan, before moving to join the family pharmaceutical business in 1973. Since then, Mr Pessina has expanded his business through a number of mergers, acquisitions and partnerships with the aim of growing the Group further and faster to enhance its position as a leader in the healthcare services and beauty industries.