Paul G. Desmarais Sr., former chairman and CEO of Putnam Investments parent Power Corp. of Canada, died Tuesday night at his estate in Sagard, Quebec, according to separate news releases from Power and the Desmarais family.
He was 86. The cause of death was not disclosed.
Mr. Desmarais held the chairman and CEO positions at Power from 1968 to 1996, according to Power. His son, Paul Desmarais Jr., replaced him as chairman and co-CEO with his other son, Andre Desmarais, but the elder Mr. Desmarais remained the controlling shareholder at Power and was a director and chairman of the Power’s executive committee at the time of his death.
A private funeral is planned, according to the news releases, with a memorial service to be scheduled by the Desmarais family at a later date.
Putnam Investments was acquired by Power from Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. in August 2007 and is now part of Great-West Lifeco, a subsidiary of Power’s financial holding company unit, Power Financial.
“Putnam Investments mourns the loss of Paul Desmarais Sr., who was an extraordinary business visionary and an open-hearted philanthropist,” said a statement from Putnam. “His strength of character and graceful presence will be missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him. Our deepest condolences are with the Desmarais family at this time.”
