Louis Desmarais

An active early-stage investor and currently General Partner of St-Lawrence Capital, LP (www.cslventures.com). Prior to starting CSL, Louis was the CEO and founding Partner of Garage Technology Ventures Canada. Before that, he was a general partner of Skypoint Capital Corporation where he led Skypoint’s fundraising efforts and ran the fund’s Quebec operations. Prior to this, Louis was a Partner of Wynnchurch Capital, a $200 million private equity firm based in Chicago and Montreal, where he played a key role in sourcing and monitoring the fund’s early-stage ventures. Between 1987 and 1999, Louis managed Desmarais Capital Corporation. Louis began his career as a chartered accountant at Deloitte & Touche, following which he studied law. In 1985, he was a law clerk of the Supreme Court of Canada. In 1986, he joined the law firm of McCarthy Tétrault as a securities lawyer. Louis holds an Honours B. Comm from Carleton University, a Diploma in Public Accountancy from McGill University and an LL.L. (Magna cum laude) and LL.B. from the University of Ottawa. He was a member of the Ordre des comptablesagréés du Québec from 1981 to 2001 and a member of the Quebec Bar since 1986.Louis is the Honorary Consul General for the Royal Kingdom of Thailand and a member of Mount Bruno Country Club.