Stefano Pessina

Stefano Pessina heads the world's largest drugstore chain, Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Pessina's journey began in 1977 when he took over his family's pharmaceutical wholesaler, later renamed Alliance Santé, in Naples, Italy.

He eventually expanded beyond Italy, merging his wholesaler with UniChem Group in 1997 and Boots Group in 2006.

A year later, Pessina took Alliance Boots private in a reported $22 billion deal with private equity firm KKR.

Between 2012 and 2014, Walgreens bought 100% of his pharmacy chain, creating Walgreens Boots Alliance.