Deals

Billionaire Desmarais Brothers Retire in Power Corp. Revamp

  • Orr to become CEO in combined financial services company
  • Desmarais family to retain control of Great-West, IGM owner

Paul Desmarais Jr. and Andre Desmarais speak after the Power Corp. of Canada annual general meeting in Toronto on May 14, 2019.

Photographer: Cole Burston/Bloomberg
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Billionaires Andre Desmarais and Paul Desmarais Jr. are stepping down as co-chief executive officers of Power Corp. of Canada, part of a reorganization that sent shares of one of the country’s largest financial services firms surging.

The Desmarais brothers, sons of the family who built up the Montreal-based company, will stay on as chairman and deputy chairman. Jeffrey Orr, current CEO of the Power Financial Corp. unit, takes the top job at a new entity combining the two main units of the insurance and asset management company.