Paul Desmarais, Jr.

Paul Desmarais, Jr. joined Power Corporation of Canada in 1981 and assumed the position of Vice President the following year. In 1984, he led the Financial Corporation to consolidate the creation of Power’s major financial holdings, as well as Pargesa Holding SA, under a single corporate entity.

Mr. Desmarais served as Vice President of Power Financial from 1984 to 1986, and as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1986 to 1989. He also fulfilled several Executive Chairman roles between 1990 and 2020, and as Chairman from 2020.

Mr. Desmarais is Chairman of Power Corporation, a position he has held since 1996. He previously served as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation from 1996 until his retirement in February 2020. After Power Financial and the Frère Group of Belgium took control of Pargesa in 1990, Mr. Desmarais moved to Europe from 1990 to 1994, to develop the partnership with the Frère Group and to restructure the Pargesa group.