# Peter Karmanos Jr.

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{{Short description|American businessman (born 1943)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{infobox person
| name        = Peter Karmanos Jr.
| image       =
| image_size  = 175px
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1943|3|11}}
| birth_place = [Detroit, Michigan](/source/Detroit%2C_Michigan), U.S.
| known_for   = Former owner of the [Carolina Hurricanes](/source/Carolina_Hurricanes)
| occupation  = Former CEO of [Compuware Corporation](/source/Compuware_Corporation)
| awards      = [Hockey Hall of Fame](/source/Hockey_Hall_of_Fame), 2015 
}}
'''Peter Karmanos Jr.''' (born March 11, 1943)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n1EsAQAAIAAJ&q=Peter+J.+Karmanos+compuware+1943|title=Corporate Yellow Book: Who's who at the Leading Listed U.S. Companies|first1=Leadership Directories|last1=Inc|first2=Monitor Publishing|last2=Company|date=November 9, 1994|publisher=Monitor Publishing Company|access-date=November 9, 2017|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=Alan |year=2011 |title=100 People of Power and Influence |journal=[The Hockey News](/source/The_Hockey_News) |volume=64 |pages=18}}</ref> is an American businessman who was most recently the minority owner and alternate governor of the [Carolina Hurricanes](/source/Carolina_Hurricanes) franchise until June 30, 2021. He served as their principal owner from 1994 (when the Hurricanes were the [Hartford Whalers](/source/Hartford_Whalers)) to 2018. He also owned the [Plymouth Whalers](/source/Plymouth_Whalers) junior ice hockey club from its establishment in 1990 until 2015, and was the majority owner of the [Florida Everblades](/source/Florida_Everblades) from 1998 to 2019.

==Early life==
Karmanos Jr. was born in [Detroit](/source/Detroit) to Petros and Fotini Karamanos. The oldest of three children, his [Greek](/source/Greek_people) immigrant family owned a small restaurant in Detroit. Karmanos attended [Henry Ford High School](/source/Henry_Ford_High_School) and [Cass Technical High School](/source/Cass_Technical_High_School), graduating from [Wayne State University](/source/Wayne_State_University) in 1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130327/BLOG007/130329882/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-pete-karmanos-jr-who-retires-from|title=10 things you may not know about Pete Karmanos Jr., who retires from Compuware on Sunday|date=March 27, 2013|website=Crainsdetroit.com|access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref> Soon after leaving college he founded software company [Compuware](/source/Compuware) with two partners, [Thomas Thewes](/source/Thomas_Thewes) and Allen Cutting.<ref name=HoF>[http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=692557&navid=DL|NHL|home Hurricanes' Karmanos a true hockey builder], NHL.com</ref> Karmanos served as Compuware's CEO until June 20, 2011, when he became executive chairman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9NMLREO1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611074734/http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9NMLREO1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 11, 2011 |title=Karmanos stepping down as Compuware Corp.'s CEO|website=Businessweek.com |date=June 7, 2011}}</ref> Karmanos retired from Compuware on March 31, 2013, but maintained a consultant role within the company.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130329/BLOG007/130329834/a-golden-parachute-will-gently-carry-pete-karmanos-into-retirement |title=A golden parachute will gently carry Pete Karmanos into retirement|website=Crainsdetroit.com |date=March 29, 2013}}</ref> Compuware terminated his post-retirement consulting agreement, effective October 1, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://investor.compuware.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1140361-13-37190&CIK=859014|title=Departure of Directors or Certain Officers|website=Investor.compuware.com|date=September 30, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226222230/http://investor.compuware.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1140361-13-37190&CIK=859014|archive-date=December 26, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> He has since opened a new computer firm, Mad Dog Technology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20140130/NEWS/140139975/peter-karmanos-starts-new-company-mad-dog-technology|title=Peter Karmanos starts new company – Mad Dog Technology – in Birmingham|date=January 30, 2014|website=Crainsdetroit.com|access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref>

==Ice hockey ventures==
Karmanos co-founded the Detroit Compuware Hockey organization in the late 1970s with Thewes.  The organization has included all levels of hockey from recreational to [youth AAA](/source/minor_ice_hockey) and [junior A](/source/junior_ice_hockey).  The [Ontario Hockey League](/source/Ontario_Hockey_League) awarded an expansion franchise on December 11, 1989, to be known as the [Detroit Compuware Ambassadors](/source/Detroit_Compuware_Ambassadors).  The team later became the [Detroit Junior Red Wings](/source/Detroit_Junior_Red_Wings), [Detroit Whalers](/source/Detroit_Whalers) and then [Plymouth Whalers](/source/Plymouth_Whalers) following a relocation to nearby [Plymouth](/source/Plymouth_Township%2C_Michigan).<ref name=HoF/> In 2015, Karmanos sold the Whalers to the owners of [Flint's](/source/Flint%2C_Michigan) [Perani Arena and Event Center](/source/Perani_Arena_and_Event_Center), and the franchise was renamed [Flint Firebirds](/source/Flint_Firebirds).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mlive.com/sports/flint/index.ssf/2015/02/its_official_ontario_hockey_le.html#incart_river | title=It's official: Ontario Hockey League approves Plymouth Whalers' move to Flint | publisher=[The Flint Journal](/source/The_Flint_Journal) | work=MLive.com | date=February 2, 2015 | access-date=February 2, 2015 | author=McMann, Aaron}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mlive.com/sports/flint/index.ssf/2015/03/flint_firebirds_unveiled_as_na.html | title='Flint Firebirds' unveiled as name for Flint's new OHL team | publisher=[The Flint Journal](/source/The_Flint_Journal) | work=MLive.com | date=March 16, 2015 | access-date=March 16, 2015 | author=McMann, Aaron}}</ref> He also sold the [Plymouth arena](/source/USA_Hockey_Arena) to [USA Hockey](/source/USA_Hockey).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usahockey.com/news_article/show/498327?referrer_id=1710470|title=USAH Foundation Completes Compuware Arena Purchase|website=USAHockey.com|date=March 31, 2015|access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref>

Karmanos, his Compuware partner Thewes, and former player [Jim Rutherford](/source/Jim_Rutherford) purchased the [Hartford Whalers](/source/Hartford_Whalers) in 1994, for $47.5 million. At the time, they had committed to keeping the team in Hartford for at least four years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-02-sp-65003-story.html|title=Whalers Sold, to Stay in Hartford|agency=Associated Press|date=June 2, 1994|website=Articles.latimes.com|access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref><ref name=canes>{{cite web|url=http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=46177|title=Peter Karmanos Jr.|website=Carolina Hurricanes|access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref> Connecticut's then-governor [Lowell P. Weicker](/source/Lowell_P._Weicker) announced that Karmanos would be critical for the team to stay in Hartford. Weicker later became a member of the Compuware Board of Directors. Hartford sold less than 11,000 season tickets for the 1995–96 NHL season and Karmanos announced the team would leave Hartford if the Whalers were unable to sell 11,000 season tickets for the 1996–97 season.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hanley |first=Christine |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xMoPAAAAIBAJ&pg=2526,2867991 |title=Hartford rally to save the Whale a so-so event |work=Boca Raton News |date=April 10, 1996 |page=1B}}</ref> Even though they surpassed 11,000 season tickets, the team was moved to [Raleigh, North Carolina](/source/Raleigh%2C_North_Carolina), and renamed the [Carolina Hurricanes](/source/Carolina_Hurricanes) following the 1996–97 season. As a result, Karmanos is still reviled by many people in [Connecticut](/source/Connecticut).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=2704122|title=Burnside: What moves have worked, what moves should be made|date=December 20, 2006|website=ESPN.com|access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref> The Hurricanes reached the Stanley Cup Finals in [2002](/source/2002_Stanley_Cup_Final), but lost to fellow [Detroit](/source/Detroit) businessman [Mike Ilitch](/source/Mike_Ilitch)’s [Detroit Red Wings](/source/Detroit_Red_Wings) in five games. The Hurricanes went on to win the [Stanley Cup](/source/Stanley_Cup) in [2006](/source/2005%E2%80%9306_NHL_season), with Karmanos eagerly donning his skates, hoisting the Cup, and skating around with it briefly after the game seven win. For his day with the Cup, he brought it to Compuware headquarters in Detroit and allowed employees to get their photo taken individually with the Cup.<ref name=hhof>{{cite web|url=http://www.hhof.com/htmlSTCjournal/exSCJ06_16.shtml|title=Hockey Hall of Fame - Stanley Cup Journals: 15|website=Hhof.com|access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref>

Karmanos' Gale Force Holdings has a subsidiary dedicated to the NHL, Hurricanes Holdings, LLC, which includes the Hurricanes and their stadium, [PNC Arena](/source/PNC_Arena). The holdings also included the Hurricanes's former [ECHL](/source/ECHL) affiliate [Florida Everblades](/source/Florida_Everblades), along with stadium [Hertz Arena](/source/Hertz_Arena) until 2019 when they both were sold to Naples businessman David Hoffmann. ,.<ref name=hhof/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/2019/08/05/hertz-arena-everblades-being-sold-naples-resident-david-hoffmann/1928074001/ |work=Naples Daily News |date=August 5, 2019|title = Hertz Arena, Everblades being sold to Naples businessman David Hoffmann}}</ref>

Karmanos received the [Lester Patrick Trophy](/source/Lester_Patrick_Trophy) for outstanding service to hockey after the [1997–98 season](/source/1997%E2%80%9398_NHL_season), the [Bill Long Award](/source/Bill_Long_Award) in 2010 for services to the [Ontario Hockey League](/source/Ontario_Hockey_League), and was inducted to the [United States Hockey Hall of Fame](/source/United_States_Hockey_Hall_of_Fame) in 2013.<ref name=HoF/> He was inducted to the [Hockey Hall of Fame](/source/Hockey_Hall_of_Fame) in the Builder Category in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hhof.com/htmlInduct/ind15Karmanos.shtml|title=Legends of Hockey - Induction Showcase - Peter Karmanos Jr.|website=Hhof.com|access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref>

Karmanos also sponsors youth hockey programs in Michigan.

On January 11, 2018, it was announced that he had sold controlling interest in the Hurricanes to [Thomas Dundon](/source/Thomas_Dundon), while retaining a minority interest.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Michael|title=Dundon Becomes Majority Owner of Hurricanes|url=https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/tom-dundon-becomes-majority-owner-of-hurricanes/c-294863198|website=NHL.com|access-date=January 12, 2018|date=January 13, 2018}}</ref> On June 30, 2021, Karmanos sold his remaining shares in the Carolina Hurricanes to Dundon, making him the sole owner of the Carolina Hurricanes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dundon Assumes Full Ownership of Hurricanes|url=https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/tom-dundon-assumes-full-ownership-of-canes/c-325524306|website=NHL.com|access-date=June 30, 2021|date=June 30, 2021}}</ref> He sold the Florida Everblades in August 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/2019/08/05/hertz-arena-everblades-being-sold-naples-resident-david-hoffmann/1928074001/ |title=Hertz Arena, Everblades being sold to Naples businessman David Hoffmann |website=Naples Daily News |date=August 5, 2019}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Karmanos donated money to the Michigan Cancer Foundation, which was renamed the [Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute](/source/Barbara_Ann_Karmanos_Cancer_Institute) in 1995 in memory of his first wife, Barbara Ann Karmanos, who died of [breast cancer](/source/breast_cancer) in 1989. In addition to three children with Barbara, Karmanos has four others with current wife [Danialle](/source/Danialle_Karmanos), and nine grandchildren.<ref name=canes/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

* {{C-SPAN}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{s-bef|before=Richard Gordon|before2=Donald Conrad}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Hartford Whalers](/source/Hartford_Whalers) principal owner <br> [Carolina Hurricanes](/source/Carolina_Hurricanes) principal owner |years=1994–2018}}
{{s-aft|after=[Thomas Dundon](/source/Thomas_Dundon)}}
{{s-end}}

{{Carolina Hurricanes}}
{{NHLOwners}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karmanos, Peter Jr.}}
Category:1943 births
Category:Living people
Category:American chief executives of professional sports organizations
Category:American people of Greek descent
Category:American philanthropists
Category:Businesspeople from Detroit
Category:Carolina Hurricanes owners
Category:Cass Technical High School alumni
Category:Hartford Whalers executives
Category:Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Lester Patrick Trophy recipients
Category:National Hockey League executives
Category:National Hockey League owners
Category:Stanley Cup champions
Category:Wayne State University alumni
Category:People named in the Paradise Papers
Category:United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Peter Karmanos Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Karmanos_Jr.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Karmanos_Jr.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.