Pierre Karl Péladeau

Early life

Pierre Karl Péladeau is the son of Quebecor founder Pierre Péladeau (1925-1997) and his first wife Raymonde Chopin (1927-1976). He has multiple siblings, including Érik Péladeau, Anne-Marie Péladeau, Isabelle Péladeau, Simon-Pierre Péladeau, Esther Péladeau, and Jean B. Péladeau. He earned his education in Montreal and Paris, particularly at the Université Paris VIII. He attended the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf. He earned a degree in philosophy from Université du Québec à Montréal and a law degree from Université de Montréal.

During university, Péladeau was so inspired by Karl Marx that he changed his middle name from “Carl” to “Karl.”


It’s reported that Péladeau joined his father’s management team at an early age. Péladeau sits on the boards of several Quebecor companies and has been active in many charities and cultural organizations.

Péladeau has a daughter, Marie (born in 2000) from his previous relationship with French native Isabelle Hervet. He also had a long-term relationship with Julia Snyder, with whom he had two children, Thomas (born in 2005) and Romy (born in 2009). While the couple separated in 2013, they would later reconcile and marry in 2015. However, they would go on to split in 2016.



His most current partner, Pascale Bourbeau, gave birth to another son (born in 2020) named Henri Raphaël.

Career

Pierre Karl Péladeau first started in the acquisition and business development, participating in the acquisition of BCE Public, which made Quebecor the largest printer in Canada. Péladeau was appointed president of Quebecor Communications Inc. in 1991. This division included the company’s main publishing assets and some distribution and retail operations. In 1997, after the sudden passing of his father, he returned to the Montreal head office to assume the position of executive vice president and chief operating officer of Quebecor Printing Inc., with the responsibility for the operations of the company worldwide. In 1998, Péladeau spearheaded the acquisition of Sun Media Corporation, making Quebecor the second largest newspaper chain in Canada. In 1999, he carried out the acquisition of the World of Color Press by Quebecor Printing Inc. The acquisition created Quebecor World Inc., one of the largest printers in the world. At one time, Quebecor World Inc. had operations in 17 countries on three continents. In 1999, the board of directors of Quebecor Inc. named him president and CEO of the company.

In 2000, he was responsible for acquiring Vidéotron group, the largest cable TV operator in Quebec, and TVA, the largest French-language broadcaster in the country. Shortly after, all of the company’s media properties were brought under one roof with the creation of Quebecor Media, one of the most significant media operations in Canada.

In March 2013, Péladeau announced he would be stepping down as CEO of Quebecor and was succeeded in May 2013 by Vidéotron’s then President, Robert Depatie. Péladeau continued to work for the company in corporate strategy. In May 2013, Péladeau was appointed by Pauline Marois to be the chairman of the board of directors of Hydro-Quebec, one of the largest hydroelectric producers and distributors in Canada. However, he would resign in March of 2014 to pursue his political ambition. Péladeau returned to Quebecor’s CEO and president on February 16, 2017, with Brian Mulroney remaining as chairman.

In March 2014, Péladeau announced his candidacy for that year’s election as a star candidate for the Parti Québécois. He was not previously known to be a sovereigntist but would promptly establish himself as such. His support of sovereigntism was reported to have alienated many voters who did not want to vote on this issue. According to The Globe and Mail, the poll numbers flatlined soon after Péladeau announced his candidacy. However, Péladeau was elected in the Saint-Jérôme riding with 37 per cent of the vote. His first day at the National Assembly was on May 26, 2014.

On May 15, 2015, Péladeau was elected leader of the Parti Québécois with 57% of the party votes. However, he resigned from his post in May 2016.

In less than 15 years, Pierre Karl successfully and dramatically changed the face of the company built by his late father. From the beginning of his term as president in 1998, Quebecor’s activities were concentrated in the printing and pulp, and paper sectors. In 2009, the company would change completely. The company began focusing on the telecommunications sector.
Like his late father, Pierre Karl believed in the democratization of culture and has been involved in the community. This involvement took various forms, including sitting on the board of directors of the Fondation Lionel-Groulx, an organization dedicated to the promotion of Québec’s history, as well as making donations on behalf of Quebecor to expand a museum, the Foundation du Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. An annual scholarship awarded by the philosophy department at the Université du Québec à Montréal bears Péladeau’s name, and Québec’s large hospital foundations have benefited from Péladeau’s generosity as well.


Péladeau has been a cycling fan and sponsored the professional cycling team Garneau-Québecor.

Net Worth

1.5 Billion