Fuad Sawaya Receives CHPA’s Ivan D. Combe Lifetime Achievement Award

(ORLANDO) - The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) awarded its 2026 Ivan D. Combe Lifetime Achievement Award to longtime industry leader Fuad Sawaya at the opening session of its annual Self-Care Leadership Summit (SLS) today in Orlando. The Combe Award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. consumer healthcare industry, recognizing individuals whose lifetime of achievements have created a lasting impact on the industry, their community, and the advancement of consumer self-care.

CHPA's Combe Award is named in honor of Ivan D. Combe, an industry pioneer and visionary who served on CHPA's Board of Directors from 1958 until 2000. It is presented annually to one deserving individual who, through a lifetime commitment to advancing consumer healthcare, has exhibited three core attributes: (1) business excellence and a passion for improving the lives of healthcare consumers; (2) leadership and involvement in industry activities; and (3) a commitment to giving back to the community.

This year's recipient, Fuad Sawaya, is a committed, respected, and resilient leader in the consumer healthcare sector, with more than 30 years of experience advising many of the leading U.S. and global consumer companies on strategy, value creation, and portfolio optimization. He was the founder and CEO of Sawaya Partners, a premier consumer-industry-focused merger and acquisition advisory business, and a long-standing strategic advisor to consumer healthcare companies and investors. In 2021, Sawaya Partners became a member of the global Canaccord Genuity Group as an independent arm serving growth companies.

Born in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War, Sawaya's early years were marked by resilience. He often attended school in shelters and studied by candlelight, experiences that shaped the discipline, empathy, and determination that would later define his leadership. After earning a degree in civil engineering from the American University of Beirut, he went on to complete his M.B.A. at Columbia Business School before launching a distinguished career on Wall Street.

"It's such an honor to recognize Fuad Sawaya, an architect behind today's modern consumer health platforms, whose strategic vision and client-first philosophy have strengthened companies across our industry," said CHPA President and CEO Scott Melville. "Fuad's insights have helped shape an industry that is more focused, more resilient, and better positioned to advance consumer self-care. His influence is felt across boardrooms, across communities, and across the companies that shape the self-care choices consumers rely on every day."

Over the course of his career, Sawaya has completed more than 130 transactions across the consumer sector, advising leading companies including Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Prestige Brands, Lil' Drug Store Products, Church & Dwight, Beiersdorf, GlaxoSmithKline, and others. He has guided hallmark transactions such as Bayer's divestitures of Dr. Scholl's and Coppertone and supported Johnson & Johnson (now Kenvue) through multiple strategic divestitures, reshaping portfolios and strengthening iconic consumer health brands.

Beyond individual deals, Sawaya has helped build scaled consumer health platforms including Foundation Consumer Healthcare, Advantice, Arcadia, Bridges, and Focus Consumer Healthcare, businesses that continue to fuel investment and expand consumer access to trusted self-care solutions nationwide.

"For more than two decades, Faud has been a deeply engaged member of the CHPA community," continued Melville, "actively supporting the industry's association, its Health In Hand Foundation, and lending his strategic voice to industry conversations that advance consumer healthcare."

Beyond business, Sawaya's commitment to service is deeply personal and far-reaching. He co-founded the Helen Sawaya Fund, which supports complementary, non-clinical services such as music therapy, art programs, and emotional support integrated into Mount Sinai's oncology programs, reflecting a belief in whole-person care. He serves on the Global Advisory Board of Columbia Business School's Chazen Institute and supports education in Lebanon through Jamhour Alumni US. He also contributes to sustainable economic development through SEAL, invests in civic and cultural institutions including the Central Park Conservancy and the Metropolitan Opera, and raised more than $120,000 for lymphoma research during his first triathlon.

Sawaya received the Combe Award during CHPA's SLS, which was attended by his family, peers, and more than 300 senior executives from the consumer healthcare industry. He joins a distinguished group of leaders whose careers have shaped the modern consumer healthcare landscape. View a list of past Ivan D. Combe Lifetime Achievement Award winners here.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), founded in 1881, is the national trade association representing the leading manufacturers and marketers of consumer healthcare products, including over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, dietary supplements, and OTC medical devices. CHPA is committed to empowering self-care by ensuring that Americans have access to products they can count on to be reliable, affordable, and convenient, while also delivering new and better ways to get and stay healthy. Visit www.chpa.org.