NEW YORK – On Tuesday night, the American-Italian Cancer Foundation (AICF) presented Stefano Pessina, executive vice chairman and chief executive officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) with the Alessandro di Montezemolo Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding career in health care.

Pictured (l-r) Daniele Bodini, American-Italian Cancer Foundation’s chairman; Stefano Pessina, executive vice chairman and CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance and Claudio Del Vecchio, chairman and CEO, Brooks Brothers Group and an American-Italian Cancer Foundation’s board member.

AICF, a New York nonprofit supporting cancer research and early detection, honored Pessina at the organization’s Benefit Dinner & Auctions at the Pierre Hotel in New York. AICF funds postdoctoral fellowships for talented Italian scientists who conduct research in the United States and provides no-cost mammograms to medically underserved women. Since 1980, AICF has awarded more than 480 post-doctoral fellowships and provided more than 107,000 women with no-cost mammograms, clinical breast exams, and educational services.

“I am honored to receive this award for work that I have been passionate about for many decades,” said Pessina, executive vice chairman, chief executive officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance. “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.”

Other honorees included the recipients of the prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicine, which is awarded to two world-class researchers who have made groundbreaking discoveries in the fields of cancer biology, prevention, diagnosis or treatment. This year’s awardees are:

• Dr. Elizabeth Jaffee, professor of oncology, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.
• Dr. 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.

Claudio Del Vecchio, chairman and chief executive officer of Brooks Brothers Group, Inc. served as the event chair. The evening featured live and silent auctions with exclusive 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.