Paul Desmarais III (born ) is a Canadian businessperson and philanthropist.

Early life and education

Desmarais was educated at

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 affiliati ...

and earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in economics from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

degree from

INSEAD INSEAD, a contraction of "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" () is a non-profit business school that maintains campuses in Europe (Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE), and North America (San ...

Career

After working at Goldman Sachs, Imerys and

Great-West Lifeco Great-West Lifeco Inc. is a Canadian insurance-centered financial holding company that operates in North America (Canada and United States), Europe and Asia through five wholly owned, regionally focused subsidiaries. Many of the companies it has ...

, Desmarais became Vice-President of

Power Corporation of Canada 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 ...

and Power Financial Corporation in 2014. In January 2017, he was named Senior Vice President of both companies. He is Chairman and CEO of Sagard Holdings, Executive Chairman and co-founder of Portag3 Ventures, and Chairman and co-founder of Diagram. Desmarais is involved in financial technology, especially with Portag3, an investment fund. In 2019, he was the recipient of the Arnold Edinborough Award (Business / Arts Awards) recognizing his impact on the arts in Canada. In 2000, he was awarded the Duke of Edinburgh's Award (Gold Level).

Personal life

Paul Desmarais III is the son of Paul Desmarais Jr. and the grandson of

Paul Desmarais Paul Desmarais Sr. (January 4, 1927 – October 8, 2013) was a Canadian financier and philanthropist, based in Montreal. With an estimated family net worth of US$4.5 billion (as of March 2012), Desmarais was ranked by ''Forbes'' as the fou ...

References

Businesspeople from Montreal Directors of Power Corporation of Canada INSEAD alumni Harvard College alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Living people 1980s births

Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

Canadian chairpersons of corporations Canadian corporate directors {{Canada-business-bio-stub