Paul Desmarais

Chairman and CEO of Sagard

📍 Montreal, Quebec, Canada🔄 Updated September 2026💼 10 investments📅 12 years investing🗓 Last invested Oct 2023
VC🌍 Canada
10
Total investments
1
Early stage
0
Mid stage
2
Late stage
12y
Years active

Portfolio

6 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Board Member
Oct 2023
Built on a foundation of trust, integrity and promise, we proudly serve over 71,000 outstanding organizations and more than 17 million individuals. ¹ We take great pride in helping people with saving, investing and advice, while providing them with the tools and resources they need to help reach their financial goals. We’re continuing to grow — and innovate — every day. Our mission is to empower financial freedom for all. That mission starts by delivering advice, personalized guidance and critical support. We strive to meet the unique needs of everyone we serve and embrace the opportunity to inspire them along their journey. Disclosures: https://www.empower.com/social-media/. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¹ As of April 1, 2022.
Board Member
Dec 2020
nesto is on a mission to offer a positive, empowering and transparent property financing experience, simplified from start to finish. Powered by the most advanced technology, we screen the whole market in seconds to find the most affordable mortgage while our commission-free experts provide you with unbiased support along the process. Simply, welcome to the bright future of home buying.
Board Member
Mar 2020
The idea of Grayhawk came from a series of simple insights about what really matters to families and the gap we knew we had to fill. In 2015 when we started speaking with successful people about managing wealth, we heard incredible stories: about families, their challenges and their dreams. We heard about the desire to look across generations to secure future success; we heard about the burden of complexity and the risk of missing out on opportunity. And we heard about trust – the desire to work in an open way, knowing that every decision was being made for their benefit. As an outcome, we formed Grayhawk to work with families with multi-generational wealth on their financial and human capital, understanding that they need more than an investment plan, they need a strategy to build well-being that lasts. We are guided by this mission to build trust with families that want to look to the future, and to benefit from the real value of wealth. Grayhawk serves successful Canadian families with custom investment management, family office and unique affinity services from its offices in Calgary, Montreal and Toronto.
Board Member
May 2016
Personal Capital gives you a whole new way to see, understand, and manage your money so you can live confidently and retire well. Our free online tools allow you to view all of your accounts in one place. A powerful dashboard provides deep insights so you can understand your entire financial picture. As an investment client, your dedicated fiduciary advisor will leverage these tools to provide personalized wealth management advice that you can trust and understand. Your tailored plan dynamically evolves with your changing life, with an emphasis on holistic planning, risk management, and after-tax returns. Transform how you track and manage your financial life with Personal Capital.
Board Member
May 2014
We aim to lead the specialty minerals industry, guided by strong values and an inspiring purpose of unlocking better futures for our people, our customers and our planet. With a global footprint, Imerys is organized around three main business areas: Performance Minerals (PM), Solutions for Refractory, Abrasives and Construction (RAC) and Solutions for Energy Transition (SET). Imerys contributes to a vast range of products that touch every aspect of life. A wide variety of industries use our value-added, innovative and sustainable solutions, ranging from the construction industry, natural solutions for consumer goods, serving agriculture, food, pharma and cosmetics industries, as well as solutions for the automotive industry and energy transition. Our people are our greatest strength; Imerys is the employer of choice for over 13,700 employees, representing over 97 different primary nationalities in 39 countries. We welcome diverse talent in a variety of roles, striving to create a safe, inclusive and equitable environment, empowering our people to perform at their best. For more information about us and what we do, please visit our website.
Board Member
May 2014
Diversified equity-only asset manager serving clients and investors worldwide since 1937. Putnam Investments is a Franklin Templeton company. Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton (www.franklinresources.com). The products, services, information and materials referenced in this site may not be available to residents in certain jurisdictions. Consult with an investment professional or contact your local Franklin Templeton office for more information. This site and the information contained herein is not intended to constitute an offer to sell or an invitation or solicitation of an offer to buy any product or service by Franklin Templeton. Nothing in this website should be construed as investment, tax, legal or other advice. All investments involve risks, including potential loss of principal. LinkedIn is owned by a third party unaffiliated with us. FT is not responsible for LinkedIn’s privacy, security, or terms of use policies that control this service, nor their content, software, or tools (or those of any third party’s) that are available through links from this page. You use any third-party site/media, software and materials at your own risk. US readers: This material is being distributed in the U.S. by Franklin Distributors, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, and only offers U.S. registered Franklin Templeton products. View our Terms and Conditions at: https://www.franklintempleton.com/help/social-media-guidelines/linkedin-guidelines. Non-US readers: View our Terms and Conditions at https://www.franklinresources.com/resources/linkedin. Regardless of where your personal data originates, FT collects/processes it in accordance with our Privacy & Cookies Notice available at: www.franklintempletonglobal.com/privacy. LinkedIn is owned by an unaffiliated third-party. ©2025 Franklin Templeton, LLC. All rights reserved.
Experience · 17 entries
All (17)
Investments (10)
Founder (2)
Board (10)
2023
Board Member
Oct 2023
Built on a foundation of trust, integrity and promise, we proudly serve over 71,000 outstanding organizations and more than 17 million individuals. ¹ We take great pride in helping people with saving, investing and advice, while providing them with the tools and resources they need to help reach their financial goals. We’re continuing to grow — and innovate — every day. Our mission is to empower financial freedom for all. That mission starts by delivering advice, personalized guidance and critical support. We strive to meet the unique needs of everyone we serve and embrace the opportunity to inspire them along their journey. Disclosures: https://www.empower.com/social-media/. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¹ As of April 1, 2022.
2020
Board Member
Dec 2020
nesto is on a mission to offer a positive, empowering and transparent property financing experience, simplified from start to finish. Powered by the most advanced technology, we screen the whole market in seconds to find the most affordable mortgage while our commission-free experts provide you with unbiased support along the process. Simply, welcome to the bright future of home buying.
Peak Achievement Athletics
Board Member
May 2020
Board Member
Mar 2020
The idea of Grayhawk came from a series of simple insights about what really matters to families and the gap we knew we had to fill. In 2015 when we started speaking with successful people about managing wealth, we heard incredible stories: about families, their challenges and their dreams. We heard about the desire to look across generations to secure future success; we heard about the burden of complexity and the risk of missing out on opportunity. And we heard about trust – the desire to work in an open way, knowing that every decision was being made for their benefit. As an outcome, we formed Grayhawk to work with families with multi-generational wealth on their financial and human capital, understanding that they need more than an investment plan, they need a strategy to build well-being that lasts. We are guided by this mission to build trust with families that want to look to the future, and to benefit from the real value of wealth. Grayhawk serves successful Canadian families with custom investment management, family office and unique affinity services from its offices in Calgary, Montreal and Toronto.
2016
Co-Founder and Executive Chairman
Aug 2016
Portage is a global investment platform focused on fintech and financial services. Our team partners with ambitious companies across all stages, providing flexible capital and deliver a global network of investors, commercial partners, advisors and value creation experts. With deep industry knowledge and entrepreneurial experience, Portage is committed to supporting the leaders who are reshaping financial services. A full list of portfolio companies is available at: www.portageinvest.com/portfolio
Show all 17 entries ↓
Investment activity
2014–2023 · 10 investments
20145201612020320231
Recent (last 2 years)Earlier