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More Karmanos drama: ‘Canes owner turfed from company he founded

Peter Karmanos Jr.

The last month has certainly been turbulent for Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos.

Three weeks after controversially firing his son as assistant GM, Karmanos has been turfed from his consulting gig with Compuware -- the company he founded in 1973 -- after blasting the company publicly.

Here’s more, from the Detroit News:

Speaking at the Sept. 20 Old Newsboys Goodfellows Tribute Breakfast, Karmanos, 70, was critical of current Compuware management, which is entertaining a bid for the company.

“Current management of Compuware needs to get their head out of their ass, all right, and understand they have more responsibility than playing some kind of silly game with some jerks in New York City,” he said in widely quoted remarks.

Karmanos also blasted Compuware manager and owners as neglecting their responsibilities to other stakeholders in the company beyond shareholders. “CEO means community, employees and then the owners,” he said, in a veiled reference to CEO Bob Paul.

Karmanos retired from the software and technology company in 2011 but still held the aforementioned consulting gig -- a six-year deal at $600,000 annually -- until five days after making those comments, at which time Compuware informed Karmanos it was terminating the arrangement.

According to the News, a Sept. 27 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said the termination was “for cause.”

As mentioned above, Karmanos made waves earlier this month by axing his son, Jason, who’d been with the ‘Canes organization for 15 years. In explaining the reason for said dismissal, the younger Karmanos said it stemmed from a personal dispute with his father, not job performance.

“The disagreement I had with my father had nothing to do with the direction of the team or the business of the team,” Jason told the Raleigh News & Observer. “This has nothing to do with my job performance.

“It’s an unfortunate situation and it’s extremely disappointing. My emotions are still raw. A big chunk of my life has been devoted to working for the team and I will miss it very much, as well as all the great people that I have worked with on a daily basis.”