Peter Karmanos, Jr.
Chairman
MadDog Technology
Peter Karmanos Jr. is the principal owner/governor and chief executive officer of the Carolina Hurricanes, as well as the chairman and co-founder of MadDog Technology. On June 29, 2015, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced that he would be inducted into the Hall in the category of Builder—defined as an individual who has contributed to the development of the game of hockey, moving the game forward.
Karmanos, 72, has been involved in hockey for 40 years, making an impact in youth hockey, the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the ECHL and the National Hockey League (NHL). He created the Compuware Youth Hockey Program in the 1970s, a system that has since produced 15 national championships, 34 state championships, 235 Division I scholarship hockey players and 14 NHL first-round draft picks. Alumni of Compuware youth hockey include Eric Lindros, Pat Peake, Pat LaFontaine, Mike Modano, Brian Rolston, David Legwand, Ryan Kesler, Kevin Hatcher, Derian Hatcher and Jacob Trouba.
Prior to selling the Plymouth Whalers in 2015, Karmanos owned OHL franchises for more than 30 years, winning his first OHL championship with Windsor in 1988. In 1989, he founded the first American-based OHL franchise, which later became the Plymouth Whalers. Plymouth won OHL titles in 1995 and 2007 and produced 18 NHL first-round selections and more than 90 players drafted into the NHL. Alumni of Karmanos’ OHL teams include James Neal, Justin Williams, Tyler Seguin, Brian Berard, Gregory Campbell, Stephen Weiss and J.T. Miller. Karmanos’ OHL franchises have also produced a number of managers and coaches at the NHL level, including Pittsburgh Penguins General Manager Jim Rutherford, Winnipeg Jets Head Coach Paul Maurice, San Jose Sharks Head Coach Peter DeBoer and Hurricanes Assistant General Manager Mike Vellucci.
Karmanos acquired an NHL franchise, the Hartford Whalers, on June 28, 1994, and relocated the team to Raleigh, NC, in 1997. Since their arrival in North Carolina, the Carolina Hurricanes have captured three division titles (1999, 2002, 2006), two Eastern Conference championships (2002, 2006) and the 2006 Stanley Cup, the first major-league sports championship for the state of North Carolina. The Hurricanes also hosted the NHL Draft in 2004 and the NHL All-Star Game in 2011. Karmanos also owned the ECHL’s Florida Everblades for 15 seasons, capturing the ECHL’s Kelly Cup championship in 2012.
In addition to his selection to the Hockey Hall Fame, Karmanos has collected a number of major awards during his career as a hockey builder, including the Lester Patrick Award (outstanding service to hockey in the U.S.), the Bill Long Award (outstanding contributions to the OHL) and the USA Hockey Distinguished Achievement Award. He is also a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
Karmanos attended Wayne State University in Detroit. He founded Compuware in 1973 with two partners who, with Karmanos, pooled their tax return money to start the company. Karmanos’ initiative and business prowess were recognized in 1989 by the Institute of American Entrepreneurs, which named him Entrepreneur of the Year. In April 1999, Karmanos ensured that his company would not lose sight of its roots when he decided to relocate more than 4,100 highly-skilled jobs from Compuware’s headquarters in Farmington Hills, Mich., to Campus Martius, a business district in the heart of downtown Detroit. He retired from his position of executive chairman of Compuware in March 2013.
Following his 40-year tenure running Compuware and turning it into a multi-billion-dollar global tech company, Karmanos co-founded MadDog Technology—a venture operator and investor focused on creating and operating cloud-powered software businesses—and maintains the role of Chairman. Two of MadDog’s initial ventures include Resolute, a leading provider of building energy management and optimization solutions and Lenderful, a consumer-direct online mortgage provider.
Along with his business and hockey interests, Karmanos is widely known for his philanthropy, particularly in the area of cancer research. In 1995, Karmanos established the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, with donations that now total in excess of $60 million. The institute is one of only 39 in the United States granted “comprehensive cancer center” status by the National Institute of Health, and the only one of the 39 named after a woman.
211 West Fort Street
