Honorary graduates

2012

Stefano Pessina - Chairman of Alliance Boots and key influencer on East Midlands and global pharmaceutical business performance

Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration (Hon DBA) in recognition of his significant contribution to the pharmaceutical industry in Europe and to the regional economy of the East Midlands.

Stefano Pessina
Stefano Pessina is executive chairman of Alliance Boots, the company that now owns one of Nottingham’s best-known home-grown signature businesses, Boots the Chemist.

Steering the operation to become one of the world’s premier pharmacy-led health and beauty groups, he is a leading player in the international pharmaceutical industry and a direct influence on the performance of the economy in the East Midlands.

Born in Italy, he studied engineering at Milan Polytechnic and early in his career worked for the international market research company AC Nielsen, before joining his father in the family pharmaceutical business.

He restructured the company, made it the sector’s top wholesaler in Italy, and later expanded internationally. In 2006 his Alliance UniChem Group merged with Boots.