Montreal-based Power Corp. of Canada announced Friday that Henri-Paul Rousseau has decided to retire as of Jan. 1, 2018. Rousseau has served as vice chairman of the board of both Power Corp. and Power Financial Corp. since January 2009, while also sitting on the boards of Great-West Lifeco Inc. and IGM Financial Inc. and those of their subsidiaries.

“Mr. Rousseau has made an outstanding contribution to our management team and to our subsidiaries’ boards over the last nine years,” says André Desmarais, deputy chairman, president and co-CEO of Power Corp. and executive co-chairman of Power Financial,” in a statement.

“On behalf of the directors of Power Corp. and Power Financial, I want to express our sincere appreciation to Mr. Rousseau and wish him the very best in his future endeavours,” adds Paul Desmarais, Jr., chairman and co-CEO of Power Corp. and executive co-chairman of Power Financial.

Rousseau will be a visiting professor at the Paris School of Economics during the 2018-2019 academic year, Power Corp. says in its announcement. There he will conduct research on the impact of new digital technologies and robotization on government activity, as well as on the redefinition of public policies relating to taxation, income distribution and regulatory frameworks.

Rousseau will also continue his philanthropic activities in the fields of health and education while remaining involved with Quebec companies as founding co-chairman of the QG100 Network.