[1] A qualified pharmacist, she is chief operating officer, international of Walgreens Boots Alliance.

[4][5] Ornella Barra was born on 20 December 1953[6][7] in Chiavari, Genoa, northwest Italy,[8][9] into a family of entrepreneurs.

to the creation of Alliance Santé, the Franco-Italian group with interests spanning Europe, and was made a board member in 1990.

[21] She is a member of the board of directors of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (IFPW), and became chairman in October 2014.

[24] Ornella Barra was ranked 5th in the 2015 "Fortune Most Powerful Women" in business among female executives in Europe, Middle East and Africa.