Those who knew Melnyk were having trouble believing he was gone after he died.
Eugene Melnyk was a player.
The photo was taken by Tony Caldwell.
Eugene wanted to be a doctor. His path was different after his father died. Initially, it was a part-time sales job for a pharmaceuticals company and a part-time student at York University, but he decided that was enough after two classes.
Melnyk had his own ideas. He didn't need a business professor to tell him that he either worked his tail off or was fired. He took from the promotions job that doctors were incredibly strapped for time, making it impossible for them to stay up to date with all the latest research.
Melnyk founded a medical publishing company that grew to include 40 titles before he sold it in 1989 for $6.5 million.
Melnyk's lawyer, Sheldon Plener, remembers congratulating him on the deal, while imagining all the possibilities that lay ahead of his client, which, given the money involved, included possibly retiring on the spot at age 27.
Eugene got an incredible offer and he said he was going to sell.
Eugene Melnyk was a player.
The photo was taken by Tony Caldwell.
I was thinking, "Holy mackerel, this person has an incredible appetite for risk, and a creative mind, and he knew the path he wanted to take, and he was willing to put it all on."
Melnyk's determination to swing for the metaphorical fences in building Biovail Corp. propelled him into the ranks of Canadian billionaires. The owner of the Senators bought the team in 2003 to save it from possible relocation to the US. He ran afoul of securities regulators when he founded the pharma company.
He had no regrets. He was very proud.
Melnyk could look like a big shot in a finely tailored suit, but he was also as hard-nosed as they come in a board room, and he felt most at home in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts with a friend next to him.
Eugene Melnyk bought the hockey team.
The photo was taken by Wayne Cuddington.
John Miszuk, the Senators' chief administrative officer and a friend and employee, said that if you walked in a room, you would never know he was a billionaire.
What were those days like? It was long. Staff pulled late nights in the early 2000s. One morning, Melnyk shows up with a coffee cart and goes to each employee's desk. He sent a bottle of Dom Pérignon with a handwritten thank you note.
Miszuk said that it was Eugene.
Everyone who knew Melnyk is having trouble believing he's gone. He died on Monday at the age of 62. It didn't seem like something Melnyk had time for. After amassing a king's fortune, he was still able to work 12 hours a day until recently, when he began drinking non-alcoholic beverages at his desk.
He had no regrets. He was incredibly proud
Sheldon Plener
He swore he had the plan to win the Stanley Cup. Clean Beauty Collective, his boutique beauty and cosmetics company, is set to launch in China this year after establishing itself among the top five fragrances in the country.
A few years ago, Melnyk snapped up a startup that was developing a brain injury detection tool using virtual-reality technology, and he was also turning his Florida racehorse farm into a housing development. It was going to be his next home run, a game-changing one with the potential to enhance athlete safety, as well as have broader potential applications related to brain health.
Eugene was able to take on a lot of projects. He was a non-stop work worker, but when he took, he stopped.
Miszuk was at a Senators management meeting. It's serious stuff. He was wandering through the casino bar when he saw a crowd. A piano tinkled from somewhere. He thought it must be a famous person.
He chuckled at the memory and said it was Eugene.
Bryan Adams was the musical act at Melnyk's party in Barbados, and he hired WayneNewton to come to a casino northeast of Toronto so he could throw his mother a surprise birthday party.
The lawyer was shouted at by someone in the crowd. I liked that he liked to have fun.
Email: Joconnor@nationalpost.com
All Rights Reserved © 2024
