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. and Jacqueline (Maranger) Desmarais. 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]

Paul Desmarais is married to Hélène Desmarais, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Centre d’entreprises et d’innovation de Montréal (CEIM).^[2] They have four children: Paul, Alexandre, Nicolas, and Charles-Édouard.

Career

Paul Desmarais Jr. began his career with S.G. Warburg & Co. in London, 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. Desmarais served as Vice-President of Power Financial 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 and as Executive Co-Chairman from 2008 until today.^[3]

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.^[4]

Board memberships

• Great-West Lifeco Inc.
• IGM Financial Inc.
• Groupe Bruxelles Lambert
• Total SA
• LafargeHolcim SA
• SGS SA

He was Vice-Chairman of the Board and a Director of Imerys (France) from 1998 until 2008 and a Director of GDF Suez (France), a multinational corporation that is a world leader in the water utilities sector, from 2008 until 2014.

Philanthropic activities

Paul Desmarais Jr. is involved with Centraide of Greater Montréal; he founded the Major Donors Circle in 1997 and has been its Honorary Chairman for many years.^[5] He is also one of the Honorary Chairs of the Healing More Better campaign of the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation.^[6]

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.^[7]

Desmarais was Co-Chair of the “A Force of Nature” 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.^[8]

Honors

• In 1992, he received the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal^[9]
• In 1994, he received the 'Insigne d'Officier de l'Ordre de la Couronne' in Belgium^[10]
• In 2002, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal^[11]
• In 2005, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada^[12]
• In 2005, he received the Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of International Business^[13]
• In 2005, he was honored by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal as a “Great Montrealer”^[14]
• In 2006, he received a Doctorat Honoris Causa from the Université Laval^[15]
• In 2008, he received a Doctorat Honoris Causa from the Université de Montréal
• In 2009, he was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec^[16]
• In 2012, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal^[17] and was named Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in France^[18]

References