Ornella Barra

Barra’s influence is significant at Walgreens Boots Alliance, the $131.5 billion global drug store chain that ranked No. 40 on the Fortune Global 500 this year. Her responsibilities include the company’s $23 billion drug wholesale business, international retail pharmacy, and WBA’s growing portfolio of global brands. Barra, who began her career as a pharmacist and whose life partner is WBA CEO Stefano Pessina, also oversees the company’s global supply chain and is currently leading the effort to update WBA’s global IT. Also high on her priority list: growing the pharmacy brand in what the company considers the most promising and important of markets—China.

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