WBA’s Pessina awarded Lifetime Achievement Award by American-Italian Cancer Foundation
The American-Italian Cancer Foundation last week presented Stefano Pessina, executive vice chairman and CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, with its Alessandro di Montezemolo Lifetime Achievement Award. The organization said the award was based on his outstanding career in health care. AICF honored Pessina at its Benefit Dinner and Auctions at New York’s Pierre Hotel.
“I am honored to receive this award for work that I have been passionate about for many decades,” Pessina said. “I am incredibly proud to lead WBA, an organization whose purpose is to help people live healthier and happier lives. Supporting people affected by cancer is at the heart of our global effort to be a force for good in society. I would like to thank the chair of the WBA CSR committee and its members for their commitment."
AICF funds postdoctoral fellowships for Italian scientists conducting research in the United States, as well as no-cost mammograms to medically underserved women. Since 1980, the organization has awarded more than 480 fellowships and provided more than 107,000 women with mammograms, clinical breast exams and educational services.
Other honorees included the prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicine, typically awarded to two researchers who have made strides in cancer biology, prevention, diagnosis or treatment. Honorees were Elizabeth Jaffee, professor of oncology at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, and David Sabatini, member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, professor of biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
The event was chaired by Claudio Del Vecchio, chairman and CEO of Brooks Brothers Group, and featured live and silent auctions of items from Artemide, Bauer Hotel, Borgo Egnazia, Brooks Brothers, Ca’ del Bosco, Calvisius Caviar, Castiglion del Bosco, Colavita, Emilio Pucci, Fendi, Hôtel de Crillon, Max Mara, Moda Operandi, Oscar de la Renta, Prada, Rocco Forte Hotels, Tenuta Sette Ponti, Tod’s, Valentino and Vhernier.