Paul Desmarais, Jr.

Paul Desmarais, Jr., OC, OQ (born July 3, 1954) is a Canadian businessman in his hometown of Montreal.

He is the eldest son of Paul Desmarais, Sr. Currently he is the Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation of Canada.

Desmarais was born in Sudbury, Ontario. He was educated at Lakefield College School in Lakefield, Ontario, McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, and at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, where he earned a Master of Business Administration. He is a Roman Catholic.^[1]

Desmarais was on the board of directors of GDF Suez, a multinational corporation that is a world leader in the water utilities sector until 2014.

Paul Desmarais also has four children: Paul, Alexandre, Nicolas, and Charles-Edouard.

Honors

In 1992, he received the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal^[2]
In 1994, he received the 'Insigne d'Officier de l'Ordre de la Couronne' in Belgium^[3]
In 2002, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal^[4]
In 2005, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada^[5]
In 2005, he received the Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of International Business^[6]
In 2005, he was honored by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal as a “Great Montrealer”^[7]
In 2009, he was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec^[8]
In 2012, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal^[9] and was named Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in France^[10]