Governance
Senior Management
Paul Desmarais, Jr. , O.C., O.Q.
Co-Chairman of the Board
Mr. Desmarais is Co-Chairman of Power Financial and Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation. Prior to joining Power Corporation in 1981, he was with S.G. Warburg & Co. in London, England, and with Standard Brands Incorporated in New York.
He is a director of numerous Power group companies in North America, including Power Financial, Great-West Lifeco, Great-West Life, Great-West Life & Annuity, London Life, Canada Life Financial, Canada Life, Crown Life, Putnam Investments, IGM Financial, Investors Group, and Mackenzie Financial. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Pargesa, and a director of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, GDF Suez, Total, and Lafarge.
Mr. Desmarais is a member of the International Council and a director of the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD), Chairman of the Board of Governors of the International Economic Forum of the Americas, and a trustee and Co-Chair of the International Advisory Council of the Brookings Institution in Washington. He is the founder and a member of the International Advisory Board of the McGill University Faculty of Management in Montréal and the founder and a member of the International Advisory Committee of École des hautes études commerciales (HEC) in Montréal.
Mr. Desmarais is also involved in various charitable and community activities in Montréal. He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University and an MBA from INSEAD, and he received honorary doctorates from Université Laval and the Université de Montréal. In 2005, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada and, in 2009, an Officer of the National Order of Québec.
André Desmarais
Co-Chairman of the Board
Mr. Desmarais is Co-Chairman of Power Financial and Deputy Chairman, President, and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation. 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 group companies in North America, including Power Financial, Great-West Lifeco, Great-West Life, Great-West Life & Annuity, London Life, Canada Life Financial, Canada Life, Crown Life, Putnam Investments, IGM Financial, Investors Group, and Mackenzie Financial. He is also a director of Pargesa in Europe, and of CITIC Pacific Ltd. in Asia, in which Power Corporation holds a minority interest.
Over the years, cultural, health, and other not-for-profit organizations in Montréal have benefitted from his contributions, 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, Leucan, the Canadian Red Cross, the Canadian Cancer Society (The Daffodil Ball), and Centraide of Greater Montreal. He is a director 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 several China-based organizations.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University and received honorary doctorates from Concordia University and Université de Montréal. In 2003, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and, in 2009, an Officer of the National Order of Québec.
R. Jeffrey Orr
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Orr was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Power Financial in 2005. He also serves as a director of Power Financial, of Power Corporation and of a number of Power group subsidiaries, including Great-West Lifeco, IGM Financial, London Life, Canada Life Financial, Crown Life, Putnam Investments, Investors Group, and Mackenzie Financial. He chairs various Executive, Investment, Compensation, and Governance and Nominating Committees of several of these companies and their affiliates. Mr. Orr is Chairman of the Board of IGM Financial, Putnam Investments, Investors Group, and Mackenzie Financial.
Mr. Orr started his career in 1981 with Nesbitt Thomson, a predecessor firm to BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. He rose quickly through the ranks to become Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and Vice-Chairman of the Bank of Montreal’s Investment Banking Group. He joined the Power group of companies in 2001 as President and Chief Executive Officer of IGM Financial.
Mr. Orr is active in a number of other community and business organizations. He was Co-Chair of the 2009 Centraide (United Way) of Greater Montreal Campaign, and he is a member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.
Mr. Orr holds a Bachelor of Arts - Honors Business Administration (HBA) degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario.
Raymond L. McFeetors
Vice-Chairman
Mr. McFeetors has been Vice-Chairman of Power Financial and Chairman of the Board of Great-West Lifeco since 2008. He has been with the Great-West group of companies since 1968, most recently as President and Chief Executive Officer of Great-West Lifeco and a number of its major subsidiaries. He is also a director and Chairman of the Board of Great-West Life, London Life, Canada Life Financial, Canada Life, Crown Life, and Great-West Life & Annuity, and serves as a director of IGM Financial, Investors Group, Mackenzie Financial, and Putnam Investments.
Mr. McFeetors serves on the boards of directors of a number of national organizations in the health, education, cultural, and business sectors.
In 2002, Mr. McFeetors was appointed Honorary Colonel of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles and, that same year, was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Winnipeg and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by his alma mater in 2007. Mr. McFeetors is a CFA charterholder.
Philip K. Ryan
Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Ryan was appointed Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Power Financial and of Power Corporation in January 2008. He is a director of IGM Financial, Great-West Lifeco, and several of their subsidiaries, including Putnam Investments, and PanAgora Asset Management.
From 1985 until 2008, Mr. Ryan held various positions with Credit Suisse, a global financial services company headquartered in Switzerland, including Chairman of the Financial Institutions Group (UK), Chief Financial Officer of Credit Suisse Group (Switzerland), Chief Financial Officer of Credit Suisse Asset Management (UK), and Managing Director of CSFB Financial Institutions Division (USA/UK).
Mr. Ryan obtained an MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Graduate Business and a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois.
Henri-Paul Rousseau , Ph.D.
Vice-Chairman
Mr. Rousseau has been a Vice-Chairman of Power Corporation and of Power Financial since 2009. He is also a director of several Power group companies, including Great-West Lifeco, Great-West Life, Great-West Life & Annuity, London Life, Canada Life Financial, Canada Life, Crown Life, IGM Financial, Investors Group, Mackenzie Financial, and Putnam Investments. He is a member of the board of directors of the Global Financial Markets Association.
Previously, he held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Prior to that, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Laurentian Bank of Canada, and served as Vice-Chairman and President and Chief Executive Officer of Boréal Assurances Inc., as well as Senior Vice-President of the National Bank of Canada.
Mr. Rousseau obtained a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Western Ontario in 1973. In recognition for his contributions as an economist, accomplished manager, and involved citizen, he was awarded honorary doctorates from Concordia University, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Université Laval, and Université de Sherbrooke. In 2006, he was named a “Great Montrealer” by the Board of Trade of Metropolitain Montreal’s Academy of Great Montrealers. He was a professor of Economics at both Université Laval and Université du Québec à Montréal. He is Chairman of the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation and is active in a number of community and not-for-profit organizations in the sectors of health and education.
Amaury De Seze
Vice-Chairman
Mr. de Seze has been Vice-Chairman of Power Financial since 2010. Prior to that, he served as a director of Power Corporation from 2001 and as a vice-chairman from 2008. He was Chairman of PAI partners, a private equity fund management company, from 1998 to 2007, and was a member of the Executive Committee of BNP Paribas, one of Europe’s largest banks, until 2004.
He serves on the board of directors of several European-based companies, including Carrefour, Publicis, Suez Environnement, Imerys, Thales, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, Pargesa, and BW Group. He joined the Paribas group in 1993 as a member of the Management Board of Banque Paribas and Compagnie Financière de Paribas. Before that, he held senior positions with Volvo Group, including as a member of the Management Board of AB Volvo in Sweden.
Mr. de Seze serves on the board of the Fondation Un Avenir Ensemble in France, whose mission is to assist students from economically disadvantaged environments and to facilitate first-time employment.
In 1991, he was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite (France) and, in 1996, an Officier de l’Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur (France). Mr. de Seze holds a degree from the Centre de Perfectionnement dans l’Administration des Affaires (CPA) in France, and he studied at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Edward Johnson
Senior Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary
Mr. Johnson joined Power Corporation in 1985 and today serves as Senior Vice-President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Power Financial and Power Corporation.
He began his career as a financial analyst and securities representative at Bell, Gouinlock and Company, a Toronto investment firm. Following his studies in law, he was appointed Special Assistant to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, a position he held until 1978, when he assumed similar responsibilities in the Office of the Minister of Finance. In 1979, he joined the Department of Justice Canada as Tax Litigation Counsel, and in 1980, he was appointed Executive Assistant to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, a position he held until 1984. Upon leaving the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Johnson joined the law firm of Lang, Michener, Cranston, Farquharson and Wright in Toronto.
Mr. Johnson is a director and the former Chairman of the Board of the National Theatre School of Canada, a director of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and a Founding Member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
Mr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Queen’s University and an Honours Bachelor of Arts (HBA) degree in Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School at the University of Western Ontario. He also holds a Certificat d’études politiques from the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris. In 1978, he was admitted to the Bar by the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Arnaud Vial
Senior Vice-President
Mr. Vial joined the Power group of companies in 1997 and currently serves as Senior Vice-President of Power Corporation and of Power Financial. He is involved in various investments in North America, Europe and Asia.
Mr. Vial began his career in 1977 with Banque Paribas (Paris). He joined the Pargesa group in 1988, starting at Parfinance S.A. in Paris and then with Pargesa Holding in 1993.
Mr. Vial graduated from the École supérieure d’Électricité in Paris. He serves on the Board of Directors of several companies, including Pargesa Holding, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, Sagard Capital Management and DuProprio Inc. He is a director and treasurer of One Drop France.
Jocelyn Lefebvre
Managing Director, Power Financial Europe B.V.
Mr. Lefebvre has been Managing Director for Europe since 1992 and, during that period, he played a significant role in the financial and industrial transformation of Pargesa, the European investment arm of Power.
He is also a founding partner and a member of the Investment Committee of the European private equity firm Sagard, sponsored by Power Corporation in cooperation with a small group of industrial and influential entrepreneurial families and renowned financial institutions.
Mr. Lefebvre has over 30 years of operational and financial experience with numerous prominent organizations. He began his career with Arthur Andersen in Montréal, before moving to Europe in 1982. He joined the Canadian manufacturing group M.I.L. Inc. in 1986, where he held a number of senior executive positions, whilst also assuming until 1991 the Chief Executive Officer role at Vickers Inc., one of the group’s larger operating units.
Mr. Lefebvre graduated from the École des hautes études commerciales (HEC) in Montréal. He is a member of the Canadian Chartered Accountants Association.
Denis Le Vasseur , C.A.
Vice-President and Controller
Mr. Le Vasseur joined the Power group of companies in 1992 and currently serves as Vice-President and Controller of Power Corporation and of Power Financial. His responsibilities include financial reporting, budgeting, taxation and information technology.
Mr. Le Vasseur began his career in 1982 with Touche Ross, a predecessor firm of Deloitte & Touche, specializing in the audit of large holding companies. He also worked on various consulting assignments in the field of mergers and acquisitions.
Mr. Le Vasseur earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and an MBA from McGill University, and obtained his Chartered Accountant designation in 1985. He serves on the board of directors of the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation, an organization that helps teenagers living with cancer regain their self-esteem and sense of pride through wilderness adventure therapy.
Stéphane Lemay
Vice-President, Assistant General Counsel and Associate Secretary
Mr. Lemay has been Vice-President, Assistant General Counsel and Associate Secretary at Power Financial since 2009. He was appointed Vice-President, Assistant General Counsel and Associate Secretary at Power Corporation in 2005.
Mr. Lemay began his career with the law firm Byers Casgrain, now Fraser Milner Casgrain, where he worked in commercial litigation for five years. He subsequently held the position of Policy Advisor, Economic Development, in the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada from 1997 to 1999. Mr. Lemay then returned to the private sector in Montréal, serving in a number of executive positions in legal, regulatory and public affairs with companies within the Telesystem Group. He then joined Gildan Activewear Inc., a leading sportswear manufacturer, where he was Vice-President of Public and Legal Affairs and Secretary until 2005.
Mr. Lemay is active in a number of not-for-profit organizations and community initiatives. He launched Étudiants dans la course – Students In the Running in 2009 and remains still very much involved in the organization. It is a program that trains students from at-risk neighbourhoods of Montréal to run the annual Montréal Oasis Marathon. The program has been a success so far, and has positively impacted the lives of many young people.
Richard Pan
Vice-President
Mr. Pan is currently Vice-President and Head of Corporate Finance and is responsible for strategic and corporate planning at Power Corporation and at Power Financial.
Before joining Power in 2008, Mr. Pan was an Executive Director in Investment Banking with Goldman Sachs International based in London, England. In this capacity, he specialized in Energy and Private Equity and was a member of the Global National Resources group. He was previously a member of the U.K. Advisory group, specializing in mergers & acquisitions.
Mr. Pan is a Rhodes Scholar and holds a Master of Philosophy in International Relations from Balliol College at Oxford University and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. His secondary education was at the University of Toronto Schools.
He is active in the community, with particular interests in education and the arts. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Opéra de Montréal and the Centaur Theatre.
Luc Reny , CFA
Vice-President
Mr. Reny has been Vice-President of Power Corporation since 2005 and Vice-President of Power Financial since 2009. Currently, he is responsible for human resources and compensation matters as well as real estate management and various aspects of Power’s operations. He joined Power Corporation in 1989 as a financial analyst and was subsequently named Executive Assistant to the President. In 1995, he was appointed Director of Administration.
He began his career in 1983 at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, where he worked as a financial analyst in the Asset Management and Equity Markets departments until 1989.
He is a member of the boards of directors of Square Victoria Communications Group, La Presse ltée, Le Club de hockey Les Remparts de Québec, and CV Tech Group. Mr. Reny is also a member of the board of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Over the years, he has participated in many fundraising activities for various charitable organizations. He currently serves on the boards of the Fondation Armand-Frappier, the Fondation Jean-Monbourquette, and the Fondation Baxter & Alma Ricard.
Mr. Reny holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Université Laval and an Executive MBA from Université de Sherbrooke. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation from the CFA Institute in Virginia, United States.
Isabelle Morin , C.A.
Treasurer
Ms. Morin has been the Treasurer of Power Financial and Power Corporation since 2006, and is also responsible for investor relations. Prior to joining Power Corporation, she was Director, Internal Audit and Financial Planning, of Cogeco Inc., a diversified Canadian communications company, from 2001. Among her responsibilities, she analyzed and evaluated the financial affairs and value of potential acquisitions for the company.
From 1997 to 2001, Ms. Morin occupied various functions within Groupe Vidéotron ltée, overseeing and improving the financial operations for several of its subsidiaries. Ms. Morin was also Senior Financial Analyst for Teleglobe Canada from 1995 to 1997, and prior to that, worked as an auditor for Samson Belair/Deloitte & Touche from 1991.
Ms. Morin holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Université du Québec à Montréal and is a Chartered Accountant.
Power Financial’s senior management team continually strives for excellence in crafting and executing the Corporation’s strategy. The team’s vision, entrepreneurial approach and leadership has resulted in significant value for shareholders over the long term.
To learn more about our management team, click on the names to the left to view each member’s biography.