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Paul Desmarais Jr. was appointed to the Lafarge Board of Directors in 2008.
Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada (1954), Paul Desmarais, Jr. studied at McGill University where he obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He then graduated from the European Institute of Business Administration (I.N.S.E.A.D.) in Fontainebleau, France, with a Master's degree in Business Administration (M.B.A.).
In 1996, he is named Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation of Canada (P.C.C.) and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Power Financial Corporation (P.F.C.).
Prior to joining P.C.C. in 1981, he was with S.G. Warburg & Co. in London, England, and with Standard Brands Incorporated in New York. He was President and Chief Operating Officer of P.F.C. from 1986 to 1989, and was Chairman from 1990 to 2005.
His term of office expires at the General Meeting approving financial statements for the financial year ended 2011.
He is a Director and member of the Executive Committee of many Power group companies in North America including Great-West Lifeco and its major subsidiaries, and I.G.M. Financial and its major subsidiaries. He is also Executive Director and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Pargesa Holding S.A. (Switzerland), Vice-Chairman of the Board of Imerys (France), and a Director of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (Belgium), Total S.A. and Suez (France).
Mr. Desmarais is Chairman of the Board of Governors of The International Economic Forum of the Americas, Founder and Chairman of the International Advisory Committee of "École des Hautes Études Commerciales" (H.E.C.) and Founder and Member of the International Advisory Board of the McGill University Faculty of Management.
He is a member of the International Council and a Director of the European Institute of Business Administration (I.N.S.E.A.D.) and Global Advisor for Merrill Lynch (New York). He is also a member of the North American Competitiveness Council (Canada). | 