Mr. Desmarais is Chairman of Power Corporation of Canada and Power Financial Corporation.

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 Vice-Chairman of the Board of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert.

Mr. Desmarais is a member of the International Council of INSEAD (former Board member), Chairman of the Board of governors of the International Economic Forum of the Americas, and a Senior Trustee of the International Advisory Council of the Brookings Institution (former Co-chair of the International Advisory Board). He is also a member of the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the Global Advisory Council of Harvard, and a member of the Business Council of Canada (former Chairman).

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 several honorary doctorates. In 2005, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 2009, an Officer of the National Order of Québec. In 2022, he was inducted into the Order of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.