Stefano Pessina, an Italian-born nuclear engineer turned drug-store mogul, is emerging as a powerful force within Walgreen Co. as it evolves from being the biggest U.S. pharmacy chain into an international retailer.
Pessina, 73, built Bern, Switzerland-based Alliance Boots GmbH through more than three decades of mergers before selling it to Walgreen last month. Now, he’s assuming a new role at Walgreen as executive vice chairman of the combined company, responsible for strategy and deals. Greg Wasson, 55, remains chief executive officer.
Investors say Pessina’s growing influence, with Alliance Boots lieutenants filling four of the merged company’s top nine positions, will push Walgreen from its neighborhood pharmacy role to the more stylish retail vision of Boots Alliance, which controls about 40 percent of the high-margin market for beauty products in the U.K.
Read more in Crain’s Chicago Business.
