Mr. Desmarais is Deputy Chairman of Power Corporation, a position he has held since 2008. He previously served as President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation from 1996 until his retirement from that position in February 2020. He is also Deputy Chairman of Power Financial, previously having served as Executive Co-Chairman from 2015 until 2020, Co-Chairman from 2008 to 2015 and Deputy Chairman from 1996 to 2008. Prior to joining Power Corporation in 1983, he was Special Assistant to the Minister of Justice of Canada and an institutional investment counsellor at Richardson Greenshields Securities Ltd.
He is a director of Power Corporation and of many Power group companies, including Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life, Empower, IGM Financial, IG Wealth Management, Mackenzie and Power Sustainable Capital. He has been a director of Rockefeller Capital Management General Partner L.L.C. since 2023. He was a director and Vice-Chairman of Pargesa in Europe until November 2020, when Pargesa’s reorganization was completed. He was also a director of Bellus Health Inc. until 2009, of CITIC Pacific Limited in Asia until 2014 and of Putnam Investments until January 2024.
Over the years, cultural, health, and other not-for-profit organizations have benefited from his commitment, involvement, and dedication. He has played key roles in a number of fundraising campaigns, including those of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Montreal Heart Institute, the Montreal General Hospital, Leucan, the Canadian Red Cross, the Canadian Cancer Society, Centraide of Greater Montreal and the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation. He is a member of the Board of the Fondation Baxter & Alma Ricard, a member of the Chairman’s International Advisory Council of the Americas Society, Honorary Chairman of the Canada China Business Council, and a member of the Trilateral Commission and several China-based organizations.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University and received honorary doctorates from Concordia University, Université de Montréal and McGill University. In 2003, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and, in 2009, an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec. In May 2022, Mr. Desmarais was inducted into the Order of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.
Mr. Desmarais has been Chairman of Power Corporation since 1996. He also served as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation from 1996 until his retirement in February 2020, previously having assumed various positions since he joined Power Corporation in 1981. He is Chairman of Power Financial and also served as Executive Co-Chairman of from 2015 to March 2020, Co‑Chairman from 2008 to 2015, Chairman of the Executive Committee from 2005 to 2008, Chairman from 1990 to 2005, Vice-Chairman from 1989 to 1990, President and Chief Operating Officer from 1986 to 1989 and Vice-President from 1984 to 1985.
After Power Financial and the Frère Group of Belgium took control of Pargesa in 1990, Mr. Desmarais moved to Europe from 1991 to 1994, to develop the partnership with the Frère Group and to restructure the Pargesa group. From 1982 to 1990, he was a member of the Management Committee of Pargesa, in 1991, Executive Vice-Chairman and then Executive Chairman of the Management Committee, and, from 2003 to 2019, he was Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Pargesa from 2013 until November 2020, when Pargesa’s reorganization was completed. Mr. Desmarais is a director of Pargesa SA since April 2021.
He is a director of many Power Corporation group companies in North America, including Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life, IGM Financial, IG Wealth Management and Mackenzie. In Europe, he is Chairman of the Board of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert. He was a director of Putnam Investments until January 2024, of Empower and of SGS SA until 2023, of LafargeHolcim Ltd. until 2020, of Total SA until 2017, of GDF Suez from 2001 to 2014, and of Imerys S.A. from 1998 to 2008.
Mr. Desmarais is a Senior Trustee (non-fiduciary status) of The Brookings Institution (Washington) and a member of Brookings International Advisory Council. He is also Chairman of the Board of Governors of The International Economic Forum of the Americas (Canada), a member of the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations (United States), a member of the Global Advisory Council of Harvard (United States), a member of The Business Council (United States) and of the Business Council of Canada. He serves as Honorary Co-Chair of the Jewish General Hospital Foundation’s Tomorrows Are Made Here campaign. He is also active on a number of philanthropic advisory councils.
In 1994, he received the Insigne d’Officier de l’Ordre de la Couronne of Belgium. In 2005, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada and he received the Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of International Business. In 2009, he was named an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec and in 2012, Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in France. Mr. Desmarais was inducted into the Order of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in May 2022. He holds a number of Honorary Doctorates.
He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University and an MBA from the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD), France.
Mr. Doer is a Senior Business Advisor to the global law firm Dentons Canada LLP since August 2016. From 2009 to 2016, he served as Canada’s Ambassador to the United States. He was the Premier of Manitoba from 1999 to 2009 and served in a number of roles in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1986 to 2009. In 2005, as Premier, Mr. Doer was named by Business Week magazine as one of the top 20 international leaders on climate change. In 2017, Mr. Doer joined the Trilateral Commission as a member of the North American Group.
Mr. Doer is a director of several Power Group companies in North America, including Power Financial, Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life, Empower, IGM Financial, IG Wealth Management and Mackenzie. He is a director of Air Canada since 2018. He was a director of Putnam Investments until January 2024 and of Barrick Gold Corporation from 2016 until 2018.
He serves as volunteer Co-Chair of the Wilson Centre’s Canada Institute, a non-partisan public policy forum focused on Canada-U.S. relations. He is a member of the Canadian American Business Council Advisory Board and a director of The Climate Group, Inc.
In 2010, he became a Member of the Order of Manitoba and, in 2011, he received a distinguished diplomatic service award from the World Affairs Council and a Honorary Law Degree from the University of Manitoba. He holds a number of honorary doctorates.
Mr. Orr has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Power Financial since 2005. He was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation in February 2020.
He has extensive experience in the financial services industry, including the past two decades in executive positions in Power group companies. He has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Power Financial, a position he has held since 2005. From 2001 to 2005, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of IGM Financial. Prior to joining IGM Financial, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and Vice-Chairman, Investment Banking Group, of the Bank of Montreal. Mr. Orr had been with BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and predecessor companies since 1981.
He is a director of Power Corporation and is also a director and Chairman of certain Power Group companies, including Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life, Empower, IGM Financial, IG Wealth Management and Mackenzie. He is also a director of PanAgora Asset Management Inc. Since 2023, Mr. Orr is also Special Advisor to the Board of Rockefeller Capital Management General Partner L.L.C. He was a director and Chairman of Putnam Investments until January 2024.
Mr. Orr is active in a number of community and business organizations. He holds a Bachelor of Arts — Honours Business Administration (HBA) degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario. Orr received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Western University.
Mr. Ryan is a company director. From 2013 to 2014, he was Managing Director, Global Head of Regulatory Strategy and Policy of JPMorgan Chase & Co., a global financial services firm. From 2008 to 2013, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), a trade association representing 680 global financial market participants. Prior to joining SIFMA, he was Vice-Chairman, Financial Institutions and Governments, at J.P. Morgan, where he was a member of the firm’s senior leadership. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan in 1993, Mr. Ryan was the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, U.S. Department of the Treasury.
He is a director of Power Corporation and of many Power group companies in North America, including Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life and Empower, having previously served as a director of Power Corporation and Power Financial from 2011 to 2013 and of Great-West Lifeco and some of its subsidiaries from 2010 to 2013. He is Chairman of the Board of Holdings U.S.A., Inc., Santander Bank, N.A. and Banco Santander International. He has served as a director of Putnam Investments until January 2024, of Markit Group Limited from 2013 to 2014 and of Lloyds Banking Group from 2009 to 2013. He was a private sector member of the Global Markets Advisory Committee for the U.S. National Intelligence Council from 2007 to 2011.
Mr. Ryan is a graduate of Villanova University and the American University Law School. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1970.
Mr. Vanaselja is a company director. He served as the Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada, from 2001 to 2015. Prior to joining BCE Inc., he was a Partner with KPMG Canada in Toronto.
Mr. Vanaselja is a director of Power Corporation and of several Power Group companies in North America, including Great-West Lifeco and Canada Life. He is also a director of the Board of TC Energy Corporation and a director and lead trustee of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust. He previously served as a director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. He also previously served on the Finance Minister’s Federal Advisory Committee on Financing, on Moody’s Council of Chief Financial Officers and on the Conference Board of Canada’s National Council of Financial Executives.
Mr. Vanaselja has been an active fundraiser for a number of community organizations including St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Quebec, Royal Victoria Hospital and the Annual Walk for Kids Help Phone.
Mr. Vanaselja is a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and holds an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Schulich School of Business.
