Power Corporation of Canada
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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | TSX: POW |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Founded | (1925) |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Canada |
| Key people | James Burns and Michael Pitfield, (CEO) |
| Products | media, pulp and paper, and financial services |
| Revenue |  CAD 32.921 Billion (2012) |
| Net income |  CAD 832.0 Million (2012) |
| Employees | 15,500 |
| Website | PowerCorporation.com |
The corporation is known for its active participation in Canadian politics through its relationships and the relationships of the Desmarais family with prominent politicians of all political stripes.
Contents |
History
Power Corporation of Canada was formed in 1925 by stockbrokers Arthur J. Nesbitt and his partner Peter A. T. Thompson. Nesbitt served as the company's first president. Power Corporation was created as a holding company to manage their substantial investments in public utility companies involved in the electrical power industry in Quebec's Eastern Townships plus in the other Canadian Provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia. In the latter part of 1930s, the company acquired a controlling interest in Bathurst Pulp and Paper Company Ltd. and in 1938, Canadian Oil Companies Ltd., selling the latter to Shell Oil Company in 1962.In 1952, Arthur J. Nesbitt was succeeded as president by his son Arthur Deane Nesbitt (1910–1978). The family sold most their interest in Power Corporation to the Paul Desmarais group in 1968 and by 1970 no longer had any involvement.
1984 saw the creation of a diversified management and holding company, Power Financial Corporation. Global expansion for the group began in the 1970’s in Europe and followed in the 1990’s in Asia. The group's involvement in the finance sector continued in 2000 with the acquisition of Canada Life, Mackenzie Financial and Putnam Investments.
Power Corporation owns 100% of Square Victoria Communications Group, 66.1% of Power Financial Corporation and 4.3% of CITIC Pacific.
While it was originally established as an electric utility holding company, the company became a conglomerate with major interests in publishing and the finance industry.[2] Power Corp is widely described as the power behind the Canadian government and influential elected officials.[3]
Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of the company are:[4]Pierre Beaudoin - President and Chief Executive Officer of Bombardier Inc.
Marcel R. Coutu - President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Oil Sands Limited
Laurent Dassault - Vice-president of Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault
André Desmarais - Deputy Chairman, President, and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Paul Desmarais - Chairman of the Executive Committee
Paul Desmarais, jr. - Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Anthony R. Graham - President of Wittington Investments, Limited
Robert Gratton - Deputy Chairman
Isabelle Marcoux - Vice-President, Corporate Development of Transcontinental Inc.
R. Jeffrey Orr - President and Chief Executive Officer of Power Financial
T. Timothy Ryan, jr. - President and Chief Executive Officer of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA)
Emőke J.E. Szathmáry - President Emeritus and professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics at the University of Manitoba
Directors Emeritus of the company are: James Burns and Michael Pitfield.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Community Investment: Power Corporation has been a supporter of the Imagine program in Canada since 1989[5]. Its subsidiaries also support this national program which promotes corporate and public commitment in communities. In addition to promoting volunteering, the program calls for corporations to contribute to a target of 1% of pre-tax domestic profit to charitable causes[6].Through charitable giving and volunteering initiatives, Power Corporation has contributed to more than 800 organizations in the past. In 2012, the company has the community investments was segmented as follows :
Community Development (28%)
Health (26%)
Arts and Culture (24%)
Education (18%)
Environment (4%)
UN Oil-for-Food Scandal
A U.S. investigation into the UN Oil-for-Food scandal determined that Power Corporation had extensive connections to French bank BNP Paribas, which was selected in 1996 to broker the Oil-for-Food program. Power owned a stake in Paribas through its subsidiary Pargesa Holding SA.[7] Pargesa Holding SA’s investment portfolio also includes Imerys, a mining entity majority owned by the Desmarais family and Belgian tycoon Albert Frère.[8]The Desmarais family and Frère are also the largest shareholders in oil company Total SA, France’s largest oil company.[9] Total was the subject of a formal investigation by the United Nations in February 2010 for bribery charges concerning oil deliveries from Iraq during the rule of dictator Saddam Hussein.[10][11]
Politics
The company is controlled by Paul Desmarais, Sr.. Paul Desmarais, Jr. is one of thirty members of the North American Competitiveness Council, a group whose advice directs the policies of Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). Additionally, the company has long been a close ally of the Liberal Party of Canada, although former or current members of other Canadian political parties have also worked for Power Corp.The company was criticized for its links with Canadian politics,[12] and specifically for its commitment to the defense of federalism in Quebec. Indeed, several former Canadian prime ministers have worked on staff. A brief summary of the connections between Power Corp. and those with political power in Canada is below.
- Former Prime Minister of Canada, Paul Martin, was hired in the 1960s to work for Paul Desmarais, Sr. by Maurice Strong. Martin became President of Canada Steamship Lines, a subsidiary of Power Corp., and in 1981 Desmarais sold the company to Martin and a partner. Martin went on to make his personal fortune as an owner of CSL.
- Former Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien sat on the board of Power Corp. subsidiary Consolidated Bathurst in the late 1980s before he became the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Chrétien's daughter France is married to the son of Paul Desmarais, Sr., André. Also Chrétien's chief of staff Eddie Goldenberg worked in the past for Power Corp.
- Former Prime Minister of Canada, the late Pierre Trudeau, served in the mid-1990s on Power Corp.'s international advisory board. Trudeau's assistant Ted Johnson also worked for Power Corp. During the Trudeau administration Michael Pitfield held a variety of positions in government but during his time in the private sector he was at one time a Vice-Chairman of Power Corp. and is currently listed as a Director Emeritus.
- Former Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney also has a relationship with Power Corporation. Mulroney's friend Ian MacDonald described Desmarais as “Mulroney’s mentor in the business world,” and it is believed that Mulroney has done legal work for Power Corp. since the end of his term as Prime Minister. Additionally, former Mulroney Minister of Transport Don Mazankowski is currently Power Corp.'s company director.
- Former Premiers of Ontario William Davis and John Robarts of the Progressive Conservatives have both sat on Power Corp.'s national advisory board. John Rae, the brother of former NDP Premier Bob Rae, currently serves as Power Corp.'s Executive Vice President.
- Former Premier of Quebec Premier Daniel Johnson, Jr. worked for Power Corp. from 1973 to 1981 and in the last three years of this term was a Vice-President in the company.
- Former member of the Liberal Party of Canada Maurice Strong became President of Power Corp. by his mid-thirties. He had a role in the creation of the Canadian International Development Agency and in 1976 he was appointed to run Petro-Canada. He later worked for the United Nations.
- Power Corp.'s international advisory board has featured individuals such as former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, former oil minister of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, former head of the US Federal Reserve Board Paul Volcker, and the previously mentioned former Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau.
- The former Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec's President and CEO Henri-Paul Rousseau became the vice-chairman of the company and a member of the board of directors of Power Corporation.
Assets
- Power Corporation of Canada
- Power Financial Corporation, which owns:
- 50 % of Parjointco N.V., which owns:
- 56,5 % of the actions of (76,0 % with voting rights)[13] of Pargesa Holding S.A., which owns:
- 50,2 % of the voting actions of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, which has participations notably in Lafarge (cement and construction aggregates), Imerys (industrial minerals), Total S.A. (oil and gas), GDF Suez (electricity and gas), Suez Environnement (water treatment and garbage and garbage disposal) and Pernod Ricard (wine and spirits)
- 42,5 % of the voting actions of Imerys (GBL en a un autre 20,7 %)
- 56,5 % of the actions of (76,0 % with voting rights)[13] of Pargesa Holding S.A., which owns:
- Great-West Lifeco which owns:
- IGM Financial Inc.
- 50 % of Parjointco N.V., which owns:
- Groupe Square Victoria, which ows:
- Power Financial Corporation, which owns:
References
- ^ http://www.powercorporation.com/media/upload/reports/annual/PCC_AR_2011_ENG_complete_1.pdf
- ^ The name is Power and it fits, The New York Times, January 25, 2007.
- ^ Globe and Mail hyperventilating on Harper picture misses the real news, Canada Free Press, June 25, 2010.
- ^ http://www.powercorporation.com/en/governance/board-directors/#profile_intro
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Pargesa Holding SA, FT.com
- ^ Frere and Desmarais Families of Belgium and Canada—The Real Power Behind Imerys, Webshells
- ^ Gore backed by group linked to oil industry?, Calgarysun, April 21, 2010.
- ^ Total Faces Iraq Oil-for-Food Bribery Investigation, Business Week, April 6, 2010.
- ^ Total under investigation over Iraq oil-for-food, Reuters, April 6, 2010.
- ^ Connectign the power, Western Standard, May 14, 2005
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