Speakers

Mr. Desmarais was appointed Senior Vice-President of Power Corporation and Power Financial in January 2017. He acts as Executive Chairman of Sagard Holdings, Portag3 Ventures and Peak Achievement Athletics, Chairman of Wealthsimple and Vice-Chairman of Imerys. He is also a director of Great-West Life, Investors Group, Mackenzie, Pargesa, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, IntegraMed, Personal Capital and Koho Financial Inc.

Before joining Power as Vice-President in May 2014, he was Assistant Vice-President in the Risk Management Group of Great-West Lifeco beginning in 2012. Previously, he worked in project management and corporate strategy at Imerys in France. He began his career in 2004, working for five years with Goldman Sachs in the United States, in the Investment Banking and Investment Strategy Groups, as well as in the Special Situations Group.

In 2000, he was awarded the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (Gold Level). Mr. Desmarais is the Founder and Honorary Chairman of Young Canadians in Finance, which provides young professionals working in the private and public financial sectors an exclusive network that enables them to assume leading roles in this field. He served as Co-Chair of the True Patriot Love 2014 Arctic Expedition to the Magnetic North Pole. He also sits on the Board of Directors of The Next 36, an organization that fast tracks the development of Canada’s most talented young innovators, turning them into the country’s outstanding future business leaders and innovators. Mr. Desmarais is also a Chair of the Kenojuak Cultural Centre and Print Shop campaign.

Mr. Desmarais is the recipient of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Harvard College (graduating cum laude) and he holds a Master in Business Administration from INSEAD in France.