Paul Guy Desmarais Jr. (born 3 July 1954) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He has been the chairman and co-CEO 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 portfolio ...

since 1996.

Early life and education

Paul Desmarais Jr. was born in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He was raised

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. He is the eldest son of billionaire Paul Desmarais Sr. and Jacqueline Desmarais. He 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 affiliatio ...

in Lakefield, Ontario and later attended

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

. Afterwards, he earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree at

INSEAD INSEAD ( ; French: ''Institut européen d'administration des affaires'') is a non-profit business school with locations in Europe (Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE) and North America (San Francisco, USA ...

Career

Desmarais began his career with S.G. Warburg & Co. in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, and with Standard Brands Incorporated in New York. He then joined Power Corporation of Canada in 1981 and assumed the position of Vice-President the following year. In 1984, he led the creation of Power Financial Corporation, where he served as Vice-President from 1984 to 1986, as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1986 to 1989, as Executive Vice Chairman from 1989 to 1990, as Executive Chairman from 1990 to 2005, as Chairman of the Executive Committee from 2006 to 2008, as Executive Co-Chairman from 2008 to 2020, and as Chairman since 2020. He also served as vice-chairman of Power Corporation from 1991 to 1996. He was named chairman and co-CEO of Power Corporation in 1996. On February 13, 2020, Desmarais retired from the functions of co-CEO and continued to play an active role in the governance of Power Corporation as chairman of its board of directors. In August 2016, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' stated that Desmarais and his brother André were "readying their 34-year-old sons ( Paul Desmarais III and Olivier Desmarais) to take over Power Corp". In April 2020, Paul and

André Desmarais André Roger Desmarais (born October 26, 1956) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. Early life He is the youngest son of Paul Desmarais Sr. and Jacqueline Desmarais. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he attended Lakefield College School in Ont ...

received more than $2.8 million each for stepping down as co-chief executive officers.

Board memberships

* Chairman:

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 portfolio ...

and

Power Financial Power Financial Corporation is a Canadian multinational company that was founded in 1984. Power Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada, is an international management and holding company with interests in financia ...

* Great-West Lifeco Inc. *

Canada Life The Canada Life Assurance Company ( French: ''La Compagnie d'Assurance du Canada sur la Vie''), commonly known as Canada Life (''Canada-Vie''), is a Canadian insurance and financial services company with its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The ...

Empower Retirement Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America is a retirement plan recordkeeping financial holding company based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States. It is the second-largest retirement plan provider in the United States. History Empow ...

Putnam Investments Putnam Investments is an investment management firm founded in 1937 by George Putnam, who established one of the first balanced mutual funds, The George Putnam Fund of Boston. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, it has offices in London, To ...

* IGM Financial Inc. * IG Wealth Management * Mackenzie * Pargesa Holding SA * Chairman:

Groupe Bruxelles Lambert Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) is a Belgian holding company invested in multiple industries. It invests in both listed and private companies. Directed by Ian Gallienne, GBL had a net asset value of €22.5 billion and a market capitalisation of � ...

* SGS He was vice-chairman of the board and a director of

Imerys IMERYS S.A. is a French Multinational corporation, multinational company that specialises in the production and processing of industrial minerals. The main headquarters is located in Paris and are constituents of the CAC Mid 60 index. Groupe Bru ...

(France) from 1998 until 2008; a director of

GDF Suez Engie SA (stylised in all caps as ENGIE) is a French multinational electric utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie. Its activities cover electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear power, renewable energy ...

(France) from 2008 until 2014; and a director of

Total Total may refer to: Mathematics * Total, the summation of a set of numbers * Total order, a partial order without incomparable pairs * Total relation, which may also mean ** connected relation (a binary relation in which any two elements are comp ...

until 2017. He is chairman of the board of governors of the International Economic Forum of the Americas (Canada), which holds four annual conferences, including the

Conference of Montreal The Conference of Montreal is an annual economic event organized by the International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA) since 1995. Mission The Conference of Montreal is a not-for-profit organization engaged to heightening knowledge and awar ...

, as well as member of The

Business Council of Canada Business Council of Canada (BCC) is an advocacy organization formerly known as the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE). It was established in 1976 as the Business Council on National Issues (BCNI). Its members include CEOs of Canada's lea ...

and The Business Council (United States). Desmarais is also a trustee of the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

, co-chair of the Brookings International Advisory Council and a member of the Brookings Executive Committee. He is a member of the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations (United States). He is a member of the Global Advisory Council of Harvard.

Philanthropic activities

Desmarais is involved with Centraide of Greater Montréal; he founded the Major Donors Circle in 1997 and had been its Honorary Chairman for many years, until 2017. He received the 2018 Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire Award and became the first Governor Emeritus for his contribution and support in the fight against poverty and

social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. In the EU context, the Euro ...

. He is also one of the honorary chairs of the "Healing More Better" campaign of the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation. In 2014 Desmarais participated in a ski expedition to the North Magnetic Pole, organized by True Patriot Love, Canada's largest charity supporting military families. The goal of the expedition was to raise awareness of the physical and mental injuries that continue to impact Canadian soldiers. Desmarais was co-chair of "A Force of Nature", a national campaign of Nature Conservancy Canada from April 1, 2007 to December 31, 2012. The national campaign raised more than $500 million and protected 752,000 acres (300,000 hectares) of at-risk natural habitat across Canada, home to more than 145 species at risk.

Personal life

Desmarais is married to Hélène Desmarais, chairman of the board and CEO of the Centre d'entreprises et d'innovation de Montréal (CEIM).

Honors

* In 1992, he received the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal * In 1994, he received the 'Insigne d'Officier de l'Ordre de la Couronne' in Belgium * In 2002, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal * In 2005, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

* In 2005, he received the Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of International Business * In 2005, he was honored by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal as a

Great Montrealer The Order of Montreal () is a municipal order awarded to residents of the city of Montreal, in the province of Quebec, Canada, since 2016. The honour succeeds the former Great Montrealer, which was conferred from 1988 to 2015 by the . His ...

* In 2006, he received a Doctorat Honoris Causa from the Université Laval * In 2008, he received a Doctorat Honoris Causa from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

* In 2009, he was made an Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

* In 2012, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and was named Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in France * In 2017, he was named Governor Emeritus of Centraide * In 2018, he received the Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire Award for his outstanding contribution to Centraide * In 2018, he received the Outstanding Philanthropist Award from the Association of Fundraiser Professionals * In 2019, he received an honorary degree from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

* In 2019, he received an honorary degree from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

References

External links

Paul Desmarais Jr.
o
Bloomberg

Power Corporation of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desmarais, Paul Jr. Lakefield College School alumni Living people Businesspeople from Greater Sudbury Businesspeople from Montreal Franco-Ontarian people McGill University alumni INSEAD alumni Officers of the Order of Canada Officers of the National Order of Quebec Directors of Power Corporation of Canada Paul Jr. Canadian chief executives Canadian chairpersons of corporations Canadian corporate directors Brookings Institution people Year of birth missing (living people)