Eugene Melnyk

Eugene Melnyk (May 27, 1959 – March 28, 2022) was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and owner, governor, and chairman of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ottawa Senators and the American Hockey League's Belleville Senators.

He was the founder, chairman, and CEO of Biovail Corporation, once Canada's largest publicly traded pharmaceutical company with more than CA$1 billion in annual revenue.

In 1982, Melnyk founded medical publishing company Trimel Corporation, which summarized important medical research into shorter and more accessible notes for doctors.

Trimel was taken public in 1987 and sold to Thomson Publications (part of the Thomson Corporation) in 1989.

In 1989, Melnyk founded Biovail Corporation, a specialty pharmaceutical company.

After taking 100% control of Biovail in 1991, Melnyk oversaw the launch of its first major product, Tiazac, in 1996, and its best selling drug, Wellbutrin XL, was licensed for distribution in the United States in 2001.

During his time as chairman and CEO of Biovail, revenues grew from $19 million in 1995 to $1.067 billion in 2006.

One of Biovail's strategies was to look for drugs with expired patents, then reinvent them with the company's proprietary technologies.

One example was producing drugs that had controlled-release features that let patients take the drug once a day instead of several times.

Melnyk's first foray into sports franchise ownership came in 2001 with the purchase of the St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

At the time, the club played at the St. Michael's College School's Arena in Toronto, but Melnyk aimed to move the team to nearby Mississauga.

On August 26, 2003, Melnyk purchased the Ottawa Senators NHL franchise along with their arena, then known as the Corel Centre.

At that time the team was facing bankruptcy and an uncertain future in Ottawa, and was purchased for the sum of US$92 million, after he reached a deal with the franchise's creditors after Rod Bryden's attempt to purchase the franchise fell through.

In 2004, a year after becoming owner of the Ottawa Senators, Melnyk left the CEO position but continued on as chairman.

In 2005, the company secured a supply deal for Tramadol.

As there was already an OHL team in Mississauga, the Mississauga IceDogs, Melnyk subsequently purchased the IceDogs franchise in 2006 and resold them in 2007 in order to facilitate the move of the Majors from Toronto to Mississauga.

Per the deal arranged by Melnyk, the IceDogs' new ownership relocated the team to St. Catharines, Ontario and the team became known as the Niagara IceDogs.

He retired as Biovail Corporation's chairman in 2007.

In 2007, Melnyk purchased a controlling stake in the Canadian beauty line Fusion Brands Inc..

The deal was estimated to have been worth US$85 million according to several analysts.

The team enjoyed some success on the ice under Melnyk's tenure, making the playoffs nine times, including a trip to the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, losing in five games to the Anaheim Ducks, as well as the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs, where they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games.

He had sold almost all of his holdings in the company by 2010.

The company was acquired by Valeant Pharmaceuticals in 2010 and is now Bausch Health.

On May 10, 2012, Melnyk sold the St. Michael's Majors (now called the Mississauga Steelheads) to Elliott Kerr for an undisclosed price.

In 2015, the National Capital Commission (NCC) put out a request for submissions to redevelop the south and south-western sections of LeBreton Flats, a prime downtown Ottawa development site, 21 ha in size.

Melnyk formed a partnership with Trinity Developments to bid on the redevelopment, known as RendezVous LeBreton.

In April 2016, the NCC selected the RendezVous LeBreton proposal, which included 4,000 housing units, park space, a recreation facility with services for the disabled, a library (just off the defined redevelopment lands) and a new arena for the Ottawa Senators.

Canadian Business magazine ranked Melnyk 79th on its 2017 list of Canada's 100 wealthiest people, with a net worth of CA$1.21 billion.

He was one of the richest residents of Barbados.

After several years under the Fusion Brands Inc. name, the company rebranded in 2018 under the name Clean Beauty Collective Inc. to mark its 15th anniversary.

According to a press release of the announcement, the Clean Beauty Collective Inc. is a boutique beauty company specializing in creating and manufacturing brands that are organic, ethically sourced and eco-conscious.

In January 2018, the NCC reached an agreement with RendezVous to redevelop LeBreton Flats in a two-phase operation.

However, in November 2018, the NCC announced that "partnership issues" remained to be resolved with RendezVous, and that it might cancel the development and start over in January 2019.

It was later learned by the media that the Senators' organization was suing Trinity Developments, in part because of a Trinity development nearby on the south side of Albert Street.

The two parties agreed to mediation over the project, but did not come to an agreement.

The NCC has since produced a new plan that leaves room for a possible arena.

Trinity Development filed a countersuit against Melnyk, which was settled out of court in December 2022, 9 months after Melnyk's death.

In 2019, Melnyk founded Neurolign Technologies Inc., a medical device company specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders.

He served as the company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

In December 2020, the Ottawa Senators were listed by Forbes magazine as the NHL's twenty-sixth highest valued franchise at US$450 million.