Performance Sports Group Ltd. shared that it anticipates appointing Paul Desmarais III, the Chairman of Sagard Capital Partners Management Corp., to its Board of Directors, effective around August 9, 2016.
Desmarais will replace Sagard Capital’s prior board nominee, Dan Friedberg, who has resigned from the Company’s Board of Directors. Sagard Capital is the Company’s largest shareholder, with beneficial ownership of approximately 17 percent of the Company’s issued and outstanding common shares.
The appointment of Desmarais will be made in accordance with PSG’s obligations under the shareholder nomination agreement with Sagard Capital Partners, L.P. (together with its general partner and investment manager, collectively, “Sagard Capital”).
“We thank Dan for his contributions to the Board and appreciate what he brought to our Company. We look forward to adding Paul’s breadth of knowledge and experience to the Board in the future,” said Bernard McDonell, Chairman of the Board, PSG. “Sagard Capital continues to be an active and supportive shareholder of the Company and brings a valuable combination of strategic, operating and financial experience to the Board and Performance Sports Group.”
Desmarais was appointed Vice President of Power Corporation and Power Financial in May 2014. Prior to his current position, he was Assistant Vice-President in the Risk Management Group of Great-West Lifeco beginning in 2012. In May 2014, Mr. Desmarais was named a director of Great-West Life, Investors Group, Mackenzie, Pargesa and Groupe Bruxelles Lambert. He is also Chairman of Sagard Capital and Wealthsimple, and Vice-Chairman of Imerys in France. Mr. Desmarais is the recipient of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Harvard College and he holds a Masters in Business Administration from INSEAD in France.
