Peter Karmanos Jr. (born March 11, 1943)[1][2] is an American businessman who was most recently the minority owner and alternate governor of the Carolina Hurricanes franchise until June 30, 2021.
He also owned the Plymouth Whalers junior ice hockey club from its establishment in 1990 until 2015, and was the majority owner of the Florida Everblades from 1998 to 2019.
Karmanos attended Henry Ford High School and graduated from Wayne State University in 1973.
[3] Soon after leaving college he founded software company Compuware with two partners, Thomas Thewes and Allen Cutting.
The Ontario Hockey League awarded an expansion franchise on December 11, 1989, to be known as the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors.
[11] Karmanos, his Compuware partner Thewes, and former player Jim Rutherford purchased the Hartford Whalers in 1994, for $47.5 million.
The holdings also included the Hurricanes's former ECHL affiliate Florida Everblades, along with stadium Hertz Arena until 2019 when they both were sold to Naples businessman David Hoffmann.