Paul Desmarais Jr.

Paul Desmarais Jr. (born July 3, 1954) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He has been the chairman and co-CEO of Power Corporation of Canada since 1996.
Early life and education
Desmarais was born in Sudbury, Ontario. He was raised Roman Catholic. He is the eldest son of billionaire Paul Desmarais Sr. and Jacqueline Desmarais. He was educated at Lakefield College School in Lakefield, Ontario. He also attended McGill University Afterwards, he earned a Master of Business Administration degree at INSEAD.
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, 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, Paul Desmarais Jr. retired from the functions of co-CEO and continues 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 stated that Paul Desmarais Jr. and his brother André “are readying their 34-year-old sons (Paul Desmarais III and Olivier Desmarais) to take over Power Corp”.
In April 2020, Paul and André Desmarais received more than $2.8 million each for stepping down as co-chief executive officers.
Board memberships
Chairman: Power Corporation and Power Financial
Great-West Lifeco Inc.
Canada Life
Empower Retirement
Putnam Investments
IGM Financial Inc.
IG Wealth Management
Mackenzie
Pargesa Holding SA
Chairman: Groupe Bruxelles Lambert
SGS
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. He was also a director of Total 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, as well as member of The Business Council of Canada and The Business Council (United States). Mr. Desmarais is also a Trustee of The Brookings Institution, 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.
He is also active on a number of philanthropic advisory councils.
Philanthropic activities
Paul Desmarais Jr. 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.
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 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.
Private life
Paul Desmarais is married to Hélène Desmarais, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Centre d’entreprises et d’innovation de Montréal (CEIM). They have four children: Paul III, Alexandre, Nicolas, and Charles-Édouard.
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
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”
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
In 2009, he was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec
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
In 2019, he received an honorary degree from McMaster University
References
External links
Paul Desmarais Jr. on Bloomberg
Power Corporation of Canada
1954 births
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