André Desmarais (born October 26, 1956) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist.

Early life

He is the youngest son of

Paul Desmarais Sr. Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

and Jacqueline Desmarais. Born in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, he attended

Lakefield College School Lakefield College School (sometimes called LCS, The Grove or simply Lakefield) is a private day and boarding school located north of the village of Lakefield, Ontario. It was the first Canadian member of Round Square, an international affiliation ...

in Ontario for two years, then

Selwyn House School Selwyn House School (SHS) is an English-language independent K-11 boys' school located in Westmount, Quebec. The school was founded in 1908 by Englishman Captain Algernon Lucas and was named in honour of Selwyn College at the University of Cam ...

. Desmarais is a graduate of

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

(BComm 78, LLD 07).

Career

André Desmarais is currently deputy chairman of the company his father took control of in 1968,

Power Corporation Power Corporation of Canada () is a management and holding company that focuses on financial services in North America, Europe and Asia. Its core holdings are insurance, retirement, wealth management and investment management, including a portfol ...

, based in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, Canada. He is also deputy chairman of Power Financial.

is an international management and holding company that focuses on financial services in North America, Europe and Asia. Its core holdings are leading insurance, retirement, wealth management and investment businesses, including a portfolio of alternative asset investment platforms. Through its European-based affiliate, the Pargesa group, it also has significant holdings in a portfolio of global companies based in Europe. Desmarais began his career at Campeau Corporation in 1979. From 1980 to 1981, he was special assistant to the Minister of Justice of Canada. Between 1981 and 1982, he was an institutional investment counsellor at Richardson Greenshields Ltd. In 1983, Desmarais returned to Power Corporation of Canada. In 1984, he was appointed president and chief operating officer of Gesca ltée and chairman and chief executive officer of Power Broadcasting Inc., in 1988. In 1991, he became president and chief operating officer of Power Corporation of Canada. In 1994, he was named chairman of Power Pacific Corporation Limited; director and member of the executive committee of Power Corporation of Canada and Power Financial Corporation. In 1996, Desmarais was appointed president and co-chief executive officer of Power Corporation of Canada and deputy chairman of Power Financial Corporation. In May 2008, he was also appointed deputy chairman of Power Corporation of Canada and became executive co-chairman of Power Financial Corporation. In 2020, after 24 years as co-chief executive officer of Power Corporation, Desmarais retired from this role. He continues to play an active role in the governance of Power Corporation and maintains his position as deputy chairman of the board.

Board memberships

* Deputy Chairman: Power Corporation and Power Financial * Great-West Lifeco Inc. * Canada Life * Empower Retirement * Putnam Investments * IGM Financial Inc. * IG Wealth Management * Mackenzie * Vice-chairman: Pargesa Holding SA

Professional memberships

* Honorary Chairman of the Canada China Business Council * Member of The

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

* Member of the Chairman's International Advisory Council of the Americas Society * Member of several China-based organizations

Past engagements

Member of the Hong Kong Chief Executive's Council of International Advisers from 1998 to 2007. Appointed in 2003 to the international council of the

JP Morgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the wo ...

Bank until 2010.

Honours

- 2003: Named an officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

- 2009: Made an Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gove ...

- Doctorate ''honoris causa'' from

, Université de Montréal and McGill University - President of the honorary members – lieutenant-colonel of the Voltigeurs de Québec.

Personal life

He married

France Chrétien Desmarais France Chrétien Desmarais, (born July 5, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and businesswoman. She is the daughter of Jean Chrétien, 20th Prime Minister of Canada. Chrétien Desmarais is married to André Desmarais, president of the Montreal-based ...

, the daughter of former

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

, on May 23, 1981. They have four children. In August 2016, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' mentions that André Desmarais and his brother Paul Jr. "are readying their 34-year-old sons ( Olivier Desmarais and

Paul Desmarais III Paul Desmarais III (born ) is a Canadian businessperson and philanthropist. Early life and education Desmarais was educated at Lakefield College School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Harvard College and a Master of Bus ...

) to take over Power Corp".

Philanthropy

Desmarais has played key roles in a number of fundraising campaigns, including those of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Montreal Heart Institute, the Montreal General Hospital, Leucan, the Canadian Red Cross, the Canadian Cancer Society (The Daffodil Ball), Centraide of Greater Montreal and the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation. In November 2015, André Desmarais and his wife donated 3 million Canadian dollars to the Montreal Heart Institute. Desmarais is also chairman of the Foundation Baxter & Alma Ricard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desmarais, Andre Directors of Power Corporation of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Officers of the National Order of Quebec Franco-Ontarian people Concordia University alumni Businesspeople from Ottawa 1956 births Living people Andre