加中贸易理事会董事会

奥利维耶·德马雷先生自2017年起担任鲍尔集团高级副总裁。德马雷先生也是推动Power Sustainable愿景实现的核心驱动力，打造以可持续发展为导向、全球领先的另类资产管理公司。

 

德马雷先生是加中贸易理事会（CCBC）的董事会主席；同时是加拿大人寿保险公司（Canada Life）、IG Wealth Management、万信投资公司（Mackenzie）及Lumenpulse公司的董事。

 

德马雷先生积极致力于社会活动，加拿大高等研究院（Canadian Institute for Advanced Research）的成员。

 

德马雷先生拥有渥太华大学民法学士学位，麦吉尔大学社会学和政治学学士学位；自 2009 年以来，他一直是魁北克律师协会会员。

向峰先生在加拿大的公共服务机构任职超过25年，为加拿大政府提供咨询服务，尤其是针对加拿大与亚洲的关系提供咨询。他在亚洲生活和工作12年有余，仅在中国就达6年之久。他曾在位于渥太华的加拿大政府全球事务部、财政部及枢密院办公室任高层领导。2000至2001年，他担任《中加投资保护协定》(FIPAs) 加拿大首席谈判代表；1996至1997年担任中国加入世贸组织谈判加拿大副首席谈判代表。在过去数十年中，他多次参与加中领导人进行的重要双边访问。

 

向峰先生曾任加拿大亚太基金会理事（2013-2016年）和国际治理创新中心理事（2006-2009年）。他曾任加拿大驻西班牙王国大使（2009-2012年），并在卸任加拿大全球事务部亚洲分部高层领导后，结束了其公共服务职业生涯。

 

向峰先生普通话流利，在美国印第安纳州Goshen College获得经济学学位时，他开始对中国产生浓厚的兴趣。他在加拿大卡尔顿大学诺曼佩特森国际事务学院获得硕士学位。他亦在加中国学者交换计划下来到中国北京大学和厦门大学等地学习汉语和经济学。

Martin Cauchon has had a distinguished career. First elected as a Member of Parliament in October 1993, he has held many positions in the Government of Canada. He has served as Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec), Minister of National Revenue, and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. In 2013, he was an official candidate in the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada. From 2015 to 2019, he was also a shareholder and Executive Chairman of Groupe Capitales Médias, which gave him a better understanding of the challenges facing the print media in a digital world.

 

Martin Cauchon’s unparalleled experience in government and the private sector has given him a deep understanding of a wide range of issues. As counsel at DS Lawyers Canada, he advises companies on the various issues facing the knowledge economy and the globalization of markets, taking into account geopolitical factors. Mr. Cauchon also facilitates the creation of partnerships at the provincial, national, and international levels.

 

Having established relationships with several counterparts in China, Martin Cauchon has acquired a good knowledge of that market, which allows him to intervene in projects that are related to the Canada-China relationship.

 

After obtaining a law degree from the University of Ottawa, Mr. Cauchon became a member of the Quebec Bar in 1985 and completed a master degree in International Business Law in 1991, at the University of Exeter, in England. He was the 2004 recipient of the Equality Forum’s International Role Model Award. In 2015, he received the honorary distinction of “Advocatus emeritus” and “Le Mérite” from the Quebec Bar. He is also Vice Chair, Board of Directors of the Canada-China Business Council and President of its Quebec Chapter. He also serves on the board of directors of several companies.

Dr. Fung is the co-founder, Board Chair and CEO of the ACDEG Group of companies, a global technology integrator. Over the past 34 years, he has founded, co-founded or restructured over 25 business ventures/corporations in agri-food, manufacturing, wholesale distribution and clean technologies in North America, Europe and Asia. Dr. Fung was a venture advisor of Cycle Capital Management Inc., one of the largest clean technology venture capital funds in Canada.

 

Dr. Fung is the co-inventor of 35 issued or allowed patents with 32 patent applications pending on a variety of chemical technologies including a highly disruptive discovery on the disproportionate responses of the physicochemical properties of liquids to minute external stimuli.

 

Besides the ACDEG Group of companies, his board experience includes Chair of the Chemical Institute of Canada, Co-chair of the Members of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, National Board Chair of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters Association, Chair of China Committee of International Science & Technology Partnership Canada, Vice-chair of the national boards of Canada China Business Council, the Canadian Standards Association Group and the Management Board of National Zero Waste Council of Canada. He was the Chancellor and a member of the Board of Governors and the Senate of Capilano University of British Columbia, the President of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, a member of the Steering Committee of the Metro Vancouver Regional Prosperity Initiative, a Senior Fellow of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and a member of the Advisory Board of the McGill School of Religious Studies.

 

He was awarded the Canadian Asian of the Year (Business and Public Service), 2009 by Asia Network Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012 by the Governor General of Canada, the honorary Doctor of Law degree by Capilano University (BC) in 2014, the honorary Doctor of Science degree by Concordia University (Quebec) in 2020 and the Award of Merit by the McGill Alumni Association in 2022.

Paul Blom是位注册职业林业学者和注册职业生物学家。他在国立台湾师范大学学习普通话，并在亚洲任职5年，包括在浙江农林大学任教，和在台湾的加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省贸易办事处上班。

 

Blom先生协调了以下全省的原住民计划和战略的发展，这些计划和战略是形成不列颠哥伦比亚省原住民能源及矿产委员会 —— 一个主张不列颠哥伦比亚省的203原住民社区的政策组织 —— 的授权基础：

– 原住民中国战略: 创新伙伴关系
– 不列颠哥伦比亚省原住民能源行动计划
– 不列颠哥伦比亚省原住民勘探和采矿行动计划

 

Blom先生曾参与诸多地方、省级和联邦访华代表团，目的是为发展贸易机会以及对原住民文化的理解；包括为纪念汶川地震的遇难者，协调第一民族议会首领（Assembly of First Nations）访华代表团在北川竖起一个图腾柱。

 

其他当前项目包括:
– 不列颠哥伦比亚省Carrier Sekani部落理事会/Tl’azt’en民族和加拿大和解委员会谈判代表
– 天然气管道影响利益协定谈判的第一民族顾问
– 第一民族马斯魁部落 — 加拿大和解框架顾问
– 不列颠哥伦比亚省北部多个探矿协议的第一民族谈判者。

Sam Boutziouvis先生于2012年12月被任命为兰万灵集团负责政府关系和多边发展机构的副总裁。他向负责全球政府、土著和经济事务的执行副总裁Michael Novak先生汇报工作。

 

他在渥太华工作，负责管理兰万灵集团与加拿大政府的关系。他与兰万灵高管和产品事业部门通力工作，确保提供必要的政治、外交、公共服务，并使皇室代理机构（加拿大出口发展局、加拿大商业公司）支持公司的国内外市场拓展。他亦代表公司与多边发展机构和国内外行业协会保持密切的关系。

 

Boutziouvis先生已加入加拿大首席执行官理事会（一家以首席执行官为主的公共政策倡导组织）20年有余，这种丰富的经验将有助其圆满完成以上工作任务。在该理事会任职期间，他的职责十分广泛。他担任过多年的主要负责国际和财政政策的副主席。此前，他曾任加拿大政府天然气出口司的高级分析师，该部门后改名为加拿大能源、矿产和资源部。

 

Boutziouvis先生获得加拿大卡尔顿大学的公共行政硕士，渥太华大学的经济学和生物化学学士，并毕业于西安大略大学的高管课程。

Gwen Burrows女士现任多伦多大学 (U of T) 国际事务及影响力部门的助理副总裁。她与校内的同事及国际的合作伙伴一起，推动多伦多大学在研究、翻译以及教育教学方面的全球领先水平和影响力。她的角色在领导和执行大学跨多维度的国际战略方面发挥着不可或缺的作用，同时她又关注特定地区的战略以及伙伴关系的发展，最大限度地提高多伦多大学作为世界顶尖学府之一的全球影响力及声誉。

 

在2022年6月被任命为国际事务及影响力部门助理副总裁之前，Burrows女士曾担任多伦多大学国际部执行董事，建立并领导团队实施了多伦大大学的第一个国际战略计划。她在全球多个地区领导并发展了重要的合作伙伴关系。特别值得一提的是，近期启动的与非洲八所大学合作的健康协作网络项目中，Burrows女士发挥了核心的领导作用。 

 

在加入多伦多大学之前，Burrows女士曾在病童医院（SickKids）担任不同的领导角色。从2014到2017年，Burrows女士担任病童医院的执行董事，负责医院的传播、公共事务及宣传。从2006到2013年，她担任病童研究所的战略项目主任。在这个岗位上，她与团队共同申请并成功获得2.27亿元加拿大创新应用基金，用以支持Peter Gilgan中心的研究及学习。

 

Burrows女士于1997年开始了她在病童医院国家资助项目基金会的职业生涯，这是一个用于儿童健康研究的整个加拿大范围的资助项目。在那里，她担任国家资助项目主任一职。在5年时间里，她领导了一个由同行评审的资助项目，支持全国各地儿童健康领域的研究人员。

 

Burrows女士一直是一名活跃于慈善领域的志愿者，包括2009至2011年担任Couchiching公共事务研究所（Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs）所长一职。她持有约翰·霍普金斯大学的哲学硕士学位和麦吉尔大学的学士学位。

Karen Cvornyek在加拿大开展了许多商业和机构项目，此外，还在亚洲、美国、英国、日本、意大利、德国和阿联酋从事建筑设计工作。她的专业强项包括：设计和项目管理；确定项目设计概念；指导建筑、顾问、客户团队完成从项目开发到竣工的全链条。

 

Cvornyek女士曾在国内外执业15年，后于2002年作为合伙人加入B+H建筑师事务所，并于2003年至2023年负责该事务所的亚洲区业务；2020年，在蒙特利尔开设工作室。2008年，被任命为亚洲区总裁，负责B+H在中国大陆、中国香港、新加坡和越南的业务，管理超过280名建筑师、室内设计师、景观设计师和城市规划师。此外，在2005年至2023年期间当选为B+H管理委员会成员。

 

Cvornyek女士拥有丰富的教育背景，在滑铁卢大学获得环境研究学士学位和建筑学士学位。是安大略建筑师协会会员，魁北克建筑师协会会员，以及加拿大皇家建筑学会会员。

 

Cvornyek女士参与了多项重大活动，并获得了许多荣誉。1991年，加拿大外交部授予其东京大使馆重建项目杰出贡献奖，2014年，她因促进加中两国关系而获得加拿大总督勋章。2017年，《新加坡商业评论》将其评为年度建筑类高管，2018年，担任在新加坡举办的加拿大—东盟商业理事会女性领导力论坛主席。2022年，参与国际妇女论坛多伦多分论坛活动。

 

Cvornyek女士亦积极在建筑教育领域传播专业知识。曾在滑铁卢大学、滑铁卢大学建筑学院、滑铁卢大学罗马建筑学院、普拉特学院建筑学院等知名院校任教；同时也是多伦多大学、滑铁卢大学和卡尔顿大学建筑学院的客座评图专家。

侯薇薇女士现任加拿大鲍尔集团在大中华区的总部 – 鲍尔太平有限公司总裁兼首席执行官，同时在多个董事会担任要职，包括中国华夏基金管理有限公司监事会主席、加中贸易理事会董事会成员，以及杜克昆山大学教育发展基金理事。侯女士致力于促进中加商业关系的发展。

 

侯女士在金融服务领域拥有近20年的跨足北美和大中华地区的职业经验。她曾任南方东英资产管理有限公司的私人投资与业务发展主管，后来担任嘉实环球投资公司首席业务发展官兼中国战略负责人。在香港之前，侯女士在加拿大投资者集团投资管理公司担任股票投资分析师。她持有艾伯塔大学金融学学士学位。

 

加拿大鲍尔集团（Power Corporation of Canada）是一家跻身《财富》世界500强的全球领先金融企业。自1978年以来，鲍尔集团在大中华地区的投资覆盖了对华夏基金的股权投资，后者是中国最大的资产管理公司之一。同时，公司还直接投资于多家在A/H股市场上市的企业以及私人项目。

Constantine Karayannopoulos, a Professional Engineer, is President and CEO of Neo Performance Materials Inc. (“NEO”), a Canadian public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:NEO). He was appointed to this position in July 2020, after serving as NEO’s Chairman since September 2016. As one of the longest serving executives in the rare earth industry, he has worked with multiple governments in Europe, North America and Asia to converge public policy and industrial economics, over the past three decades.

 

Constantine began the Rare Earth phase of his career in 1994, under the leadership of Peter V. Gundy, who founded Advanced Material Resources Limited (“AMR”) in Toronto the prior year. AMR was the first foreign company allowed into China’s Rare Earth industry with two majority owned operating joint ventures. Constantine moved from Business Development Manager to North American Sales Manager, Global Sales Manager/Chairman of the JVs, VP/General Manager of AMR’s Rare Earth Business Unit and eventually to Chief Operating Officer responsible for both AMR’s divisions, Rare Earths and Magnetic Materials. In 2005, following AMR’s acquisition of Magnequench, Constantine became CEO of the combined company, being renamed to Neo Material Technologies Inc. (“Neo”). Neo established itself as a unique global rare earth specialty value-added materials company and, with strong cash flow and a pristine balance sheet, grew to 11 plants and 1,500 employees globally. In June 2012, Neo was acquired by Molycorp (NYSE-MCP) for Cdn$1.3 billion. Constantine joined the Board of Molycorp in July 2012 as Vice-Chairman. He became interim CEO of Molycorp in December 2012 and Chairman in December 2013. In September 2016, select strategic assets of Molycorp emerged as the distinct business entity Neo Performance Materials, of which Constantine was first appointed Chairman and now serves as CEO. He is also a Director of NEO and serves on the Health, Environment, Safety and Sustainability (HESS) Committee.

 

Constantine was also co-founder and non-executive Chairman of the Board of Neo Lithium Corp., from 2016 until January 2022.

 

Constantine is a member of the Advisory Board at the University of Toronto’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, a Director of the Canada China Business Council and a director on the Board of Lithium Royalties Corp., a fund investing in battery materials royalties and streams.

 

He holds Bachelor and Master of Applied Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto.

 

Constantine directs most of his charitable work towards education, one of his passions. He is married with three sons and resides in Toronto, Canada.

Tim McGuire joined China Construction Bank (CCB) in 2019 and has more than 20 years of experience in international finance. His focus is on corporate debt, project finance, M&A, trade finance and insurance. He is responsible for leading business activities and providing strategic advice to corporate clients across Canada. Prior to joining CCB, Tim worked at EDC and HSBC, where he led global business development activities in mining, energy, financial institutions and real estate. He is a frequent speaker to audiences worldwide. His key differentiators, include: a) extensive network of client, bank, industry, and government contacts; b) strong knowledge of political and ESG risks; c) proven record of generating, growing and keeping business.

 

Tim graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Commerce (with Distinction), which included an exchange to Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Tim has also taken Executive Education courses at Columbia University in New York. Tim is active in the Toronto community, being on the Board of YPO, mentoring university students and coaching youth hockey, baseball and soccer.

 

China Construction Bank is the second largest bank in the world in terms of Tier 1 capital. The Bank provides customers with comprehensive financial services, including personal banking, corporate banking, investment and wealth management. With 14,912 banking outlets and 347,156 staff members, the Bank serves hundreds of millions of personal and corporate customers. The Bank has subsidiaries in various sectors, including fund management, financial leasing, trust, insurance, futures, pension and investment banking. CCB has more than 200 overseas entities covering 30 countries with locations in major financial centres.

Stuart Mercier is a Managing Partner, Asia Pacific, responsible for expanding Brookfield’s Real Estate activities and partnerships across Asia Pacific and the Middle East and is the Country Head for Singapore. He has held several roles across the organization including as the inaugural Head of Asia where he lead the establishment of Brookfield’s Chinese, Korean and Japanese real estate businesses.

 

Prior to joining Brookfield in 2012, Mr. Mercier held various investment roles within a boutique Asia real estate investment and advisory firm. He also held several positions at Oxford Properties, the global real estate platform of the OMERS pension fund.

 

Mr. Mercier holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Hong Kong and London Business School, where he was the recipient of the Haitong Securities “New Generation of Leaders” scholarship, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bishop’s University. Mr. Mercier serves on the board of the Canada China Business Council and is a Global Governing Trustee and APAC Executive Committee member of the Urban Land Institute.

The Honourable James Moore is a Senior Business Advisor at the multinational law firm Dentons, a Public Policy Advisor at the global firm Edelman and sits on a number of corporate boards with extensive experience in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.  He is a regular public affairs contributor on CBC, CTV, Global National and BNN Bloomberg. 

 

Previously, he served as Canada’s Minister of Industry, Minister of Canadian Heritage & Official Languages and Secretary of State for the Asia Pacific Gateway and Minister for the 2010 Olympics over a 5-term, 15-year career as a Member of Parliament. He was the senior regional minister for the province of British Columbia and the is the youngest cabinet minister and Member of Parliament in B.C.’s history. 

 

Mr. Moore earned an outstanding reputation over his years spent in government, most notably as Minister of Industry from 2013 to 2015, where he oversaw a wide range of Canada’s public policy decisions and led a team responsible for Canada’s productivity, investment, digital and intellectual property policies.  He was responsible for the Investment Canada Act, the Canada Space Agency, the Canada Tourism Commission, the Business Development Bank of Canada, Statistics Canada, the National Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation and more.

 

Recently he served as national vice-chair of the Canadian Cancer Society, a member of the NAFTA Council for the Government of Canada and was the 6th Chancellor of the University of Northern British Columbia. He holds a BA from the University of Northern BC and an MA from the University of Saskatchewan. 

Miles advises clients involved in energy sector transactions and project proponents on acquisitions and divestitures, corporate transactions, and project structure and development.

 

He has led significant transactions in the upstream, midstream and oilfield service sectors, and has advised on virtually all aspects of the Liquefied Natural Gas value chain.

 

He has particular expertise in transactions involving engineering companies.

 

He has dealt extensively with alcohol regulation in Alberta.

 

He has played a lead role in significant restructuring transactions both within Canada and internationally. Miles is the leader of BLG’s Asia Pacific initiative.

James Rausch is Global Head of Banks, Brokers & Exchanges at RBC Investor & Treasury Services and is also a member of the Investor & Treasury Services Operating Committee. He is based in Toronto.

 

As Global Head of Banks, Brokers & Exchanges, James has end-to-end responsibility for the sales, service and product delivery of Canadian dollar services to our financial institution partners globally. James also leads our Graduate Rotational Program in Canada, and is heavily involved in mentoring new and high potential employees.

 

James joined RBC in 2014 and is a seasoned leader with over 25 years of experience in financial markets, including 12 years at Powerex and previously at Infoware Software, the Toronto Stock Exchange and Toronto Dominion Bank. His broad business experience includes transaction banking, client coverage, risk management, commodities trading and corporate finance.

 

James became a CFA charterholder in 1999 and holds an MBA from the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science from the same institution. He recently completed a certificate in the Foundations of Applied Mindfulness Meditation, is a certified facilitator of the Mindfulness Without Borders program and is a Professional Coach pursuing his Associate Certified Coach (ACC) accreditation. James is a diversity advocate, leading the diversity leadership council for the division in Canada as well as the executive sponsor for the next-gen stream. As a visible LGBTQ+ leader, James recently delivered the lunch keynote at the Out on Bay Street conference.

 

James is the past divisional co-chair of the RBC United Way Giving Campaign and participates as a board member on the Canada China Business Council (CCBC) and DAREarts. He was a past board member of Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) and co-chaired the North American Council.

Paul Towsey is a Professional Engineer with over 25 years of experience in the design and management of steelmaking projects globally. From 2015 to 2017, Mr. Towsey relocated with his family to Beijing to manage Hatch’s Metals portfolio in the China/Asia region. During this period, he regularly dealt with Chinese companies (State Owned and Private), the Canadian Trade Commission and international business groups to promote Hatch and Canadian business. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of Hatch’s Joint Venture company Hatch CISDI International and regularly visits Beijing and Chongqing as part of this role.

 

Mr. Towsey is an expert in ironmaking and is deeply engaged in helping Hatch’s clients make the transition to a carbon-free steelmaking future.

 

Mr. Towsey is based in Mississauga, Canada, and is responsible for Hatch’s Iron and Steel business globally.

As the Founder and Chairman of CND Canada Food Group Ltd., Mr. Chengyi WEI runs three businesses lines: grocery chain stores, warehouses and distribution centers, and real estate developments.

 

Mr. Wei is known as a successful entrepreneur who immigrated from China to Canada in 2001. In the same year, he established Canada FengTai Group. Mr. Wei is the chairman and founder of FengTai Group, which owns Foody-Mart Supermarket Chain and Foody World Supermarket Chain, with existing operating space of over 300,000 SF in six stores and two warehouses, with annual revenue over $300 million.

 

The two distribution centres are in Toronto and Vancouver with over 300,000 square feet of warehouse operation area.

 

In addition, Mr. Wei is actively involved in real estate developments. Projects include residential developments with over 130 acres of land under development in the GTA and 4,000 residential units in the construction pipeline. Commercial real estate development projects include developing Shop & Play Lifestyle plazas combining grocery stores, restaurants, and other entertainment & recreation outlets.

 

Furthermore, Mr. Wei is a leader of Chinese Community in Canada. He is the honorable President of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations and President of Min Business Association of Canada. He was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. He was also nominated for and awarded The Senate of Canada 150 Medal Program on Nov. 29, 2017.

Jack Yu (于华洲) is an experienced business lawyer, with a focus on private mergers & acquisition and cross-border transactions. Mr. Yu has advised clients on over several billion dollars of M&A, private equity, corporate reorganization, and complex commercial transactions, spanning across multiple industries and sectors.

 

As Co-Leader of the firm’s China Practice Group, Mr. Yu regularly travels to China and is actively involved in the Asian legal community in Canada. He is often relied on by Chinese clients both from overseas and in Canada for sophisticated transactions and day-to-day legal issues. Mr. Yu also has experience in the foreign investments review process in Canada.

 

Prior to attending law school, Mr. Yu earned an undergraduate degree in biochemistry and philosophy from the University of Toronto. He is on the Board of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, Ontario Chapter. Born and raised in Jinan, Shandong, Mr. Yu is fluent in Mandarin.

Paul Desmarais先生是北美洲第一个认可并支持中国改革经济和提高其庞大的人口生活标准的商业领袖。在加拿大已故前总理皮埃尔·特鲁多的鼓励下，Desmarais先生组织了一个包括加拿大大型公司总裁和执行官在内的大型贸易代表团访华。他极富远见并精力充沛，在其不懈努力下，加中贸易理事会（CCBC）于1978年成立。前15年里，他亲自担任其理事会主席。出于崇高的公共责任，Desmarais先生率领众多贸易代表团持续访问中国，继而在加拿大迎接回访的中国官员。Desmarais先生的鲍尔集团是首批在中国投资的外企之一。在他首次访问中国40年后，鲍尔集团今日依旧在中国进行重大投资，两国企业和投资团体始终将Desmarais先生视作精神图腾。

 

Desmarais先先生于1968年收购加拿大鲍尔集团，在2013年去世前一直为控股股东。1968年至1996年，他出任鲍尔集团董事长兼首席执行官，在2013年之前一直担任董事会执委会董事及执委会主席。在他逝世时，他仍担任Pargesa Holding SA公司董事长兼执行董事，鲍尔财务公司（Power Financial Corporation）董事和Groupe Bruxelles Lambert公司董事。Desmarais先生是加拿大枢密院成员，荣获加拿大最高荣誉勋章、魁北克官员勋章、法国荣誉军团勋章大十字骑士勋位，和比利时利奥波德二世国王司令勋章。

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 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 many Power Corporation group companies, including Power Financial, Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life, Empower, Putnam Investments, 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 and of CITIC Pacific Limited in Asia until 2014.

 

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.