Mr. Eugene Melnyk ’77†
Eugene Melnyk graduated from St. Michael’s College School in 1977. In 1989, he founded Biovail Corporation and turned it into Canada’s largest publicly traded pharmaceutical company. Eugene retired as Chairman of Biovail on June 30, 2007.
Apart from his strong desire to succeed in business, Eugene is a passionate sports fan focusing much of his efforts on hockey, horse racing and amateur sport development.
He currently owns the OHL’s Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and the Senators’ 20,500 seat home arena, Scotiabank Place.
His rise to become one of North America’s most successful thoroughbred breeders and owners is evident in his acquisition and restoration of the prestigious 1,000 acre Mockingbird Farm in Ocala, Florida, which he renamed, Winding Oaks Farm.
On the amateur sport front, Eugene recently chaired the successful bid group to host the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa. Last August, he pledged $1 million to launch a national campaign called Patrons of Sport in support of Canada’s amateur athletes.
Eugene gives back to the community through a variety of initiatives choosing to focus on causes involving children, health care and education. He is the founding donor of “Anna House” a unique childcare facility at Belmont Park and he is also a founding donor of Roger’s House, a pediatric palliative care facility in Ottawa.
Eugene and his family host the Melnyk Family Skate for Kids which annually donates new helmets and skates to hundreds of underprivileged children. For the past decade, he has been a lead donor and honorary director of Help Us Help The Children, a humanitarian organization that offers vital care to over 100,000 children living in 220 orphanages throughout Ukraine.
He is the largest donor in the 87-year history of St. Joseph’s Health Centre where his late father worked as a family and emergency room physician. Eugene supports education through a variety of academic institutions. Recently, Eugene and his wife Laura helped to establish Providence Elementary School set within the historic Francia Plantation in Barbados.
Most notable, however, is the fact that Eugene is the largest individual donor of St. Michael’s College School reflecting a deep commitment to his faith and his alma mater. He remains one of the school’s greatest ambassadors and proudest alumnus.
Learn more: eugenemelnyk.com