Donald Panoz ( or ; February 13, 1935 – September 11, 2018) was an American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

who founded two

pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

companies.

Early life

Panoz was an

Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

. His father, Eugene Panunzio, immigrated to the United States from

Avezzano Avezzano ( ; ) is a city and comune in the Abruzzo region, province of L'Aquila, Italy. It is the second most populous municipality in the province and the sixth in the region. It is the main commercial, industrial and agricultural centre of the ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the 1900s. Eugene, who shortened his surname from the original ''Panunzio'' to ''Panoz'', was a champion

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

boxer. Panoz attended Greenbrier Military School in

Lewisburg, West Virginia Lewisburg is a city in and the county seat of Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,930 at the 2020 census. History Lewisburg is named after Andrew Lewis (American general), Andrew Lewis. In 1751 Lewis, as a youn ...

, where he met Nancy, whom he would later marry. The two served in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, then moved to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

upon their return to the United States.

Business career

Panoz operated two

drug store A pharmacy (also called drugstore in American English or community pharmacy or chemist in Commonwealth English) is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of ...

s in Pittsburgh while studying business at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

. In 1961, Panoz and Milan Puskar formed Milan Pharmaceuticals (which would later be renamed ''Mylan'') in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. While head of this company, Panoz headed a research group that invented time-release medication through a

transdermal patch A transdermal patch is a medicated adhesive patch that is placed on the skin to deliver a specific Dose (biochemistry), dose of medication through the skin and into the bloodstream. An advantage of a transdermal drug delivery route over ot ...

, known most commonly in today's market for its

nicotine Nicotine is a natural product, naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in tobacco and ''Duboisia hopwoodii'') and is widely used recreational drug use, recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As ...

application. Panoz left Mylan in 1969 when the company refused to develop the patch, and subsequently moved the family to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

where he formed Élan Corporation. This company (now defunct) was an industry leader in drug delivery products and technology, and was the first Irish company to be publicly listed in the U.S.

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange a ...

. Panoz gradually reduced his stakes in the company, and it was bought by

Perrigo Perrigo Company plc () is an American Irish-registered manufacturer of private label over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, and while 70% of Perrigo's net sales are from the U.S. healthcare system, Perrigo is legally headquartered in Ireland for ...

in 2013. Don and Nancy Panoz founded Château Élan Winery & Resort in

Braselton, Georgia Braselton ( ) is a town in Jackson County, Georgia, Jackson, Barrow County, Georgia, Barrow, Gwinnett County, Georgia, Gwinnett, and Hall County, Georgia, Hall counties in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, approximately northeast o ...

, in 1992. At the time of Don's death in 2018 the couple still owned the resort, which has since grown to . The Panozes sold a portion of their businesses to three partners in 2004. Similarly in

Patterson, California Patterson is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States, located off Interstate 5 in California, Interstate 5. It is southeast of Tracy, California, Tracy and is part of the Modesto, California, Modesto Modesto metropolitan area, ...

, 35 miles east of San Jose, the Panozes developed Diablo Grande

gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...

and the Diablo Grande Winery and Resort, which was sold In 2005; and later they founded the St. Andrews Bay Resort and Spa in Scotland. This venue has since been sold and is now managed by

Fairmont Hotels and Resorts Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a global chain of luxury hotel that operates more than 70 properties worldwide, with a strong presence in Canada. The company originated from two hotel businesses established in the late 19th century, the Canadian Pac ...

as the

Fairmont St Andrews The Fairmont St Andrews Bay is a 5-star resort hotel situated outside the town of St Andrews, St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The hotel is managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and owned by Accor, a French hospitality company. History The re ...

. These venues feature golf course designs and collaborations from

Bruce Devlin Bruce William Devlin (born 10 October 1937) is an Australian professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer. Early life Devlin was born in 1937 in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. His parents, Jess and Artie, moved to Gou ...

, Denis Griffiths,

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

, Gene Sarazen, and

Sam Torrance Samuel Robert Torrance (born 24 August 1953) is a Scotland, Scottish professional golfer and sports commentator. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s, with 21 Tour wins. Torrance was a membe ...

. He was also the co-Founder and chairman of a water pollution control firm, HydroMentia, and was the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Norcross, GA based indoor LED display manufacturer, NanoLumens.

Panoz in motorsports

In 1989, Panoz funded an upstart company started by his son Dan, called Panoz Auto Development. Reportedly, the senior Panoz was skeptical at first of his son's venture, but later used his position in the business world to bring celebrity motorsport figures such as

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an American former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to , and American open-wheel racing, IndyCar from 1964 USAC Championship Car season, 1964 to 1994 IndyCar se ...

on board with the goal of entering a Panoz race car in the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

race. Panoz Motorsports was formed in 1997 in Braselton and entered its brand new car, the Panoz Esperante GTR-1, at Le Mans. The team was competitive, finishing ahead of all but two of the major factory teams in its class. In 1999, Panoz founded the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

with the aim of bringing European-style endurance sports car racing to the Americas.

Holdings

Today, the holdings of Panoz family include the following: *Diablo Grande Winery & Resort *Élan Natural Waters *Fountainhead Development Corporation *Panoz Auto Development Company * Van Diemen International * Panoz, LLC Former holdings including: *

Sebring International Raceway Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility in the Southeastern United States, southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida. Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S ...

(long-term lease) - Sold To NASCAR (IMSA Holdings, LLC) *

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

- Sold To NASCAR (IMSA Holdings, LLC) *

Mosport International Raceway Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-Race track, track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville in Clarington, Ontario, Canada, approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) east of To ...

(long-term lease) - Sold To C.M.V. Ron Fellows, Carlo Fedani *Chateau Elan Resort & The Vintage Golf Club, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia

Personal life and death

Panoz and his wife Nancy were married for 63 years. They had two sons, Danny and Chris, and four daughters, Dona, Dena, Lisa and Andrea. Panoz died on September 11, 2018, of pancreatic cancer. He was 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panoz, Don 1935 births 2018 deaths American founders of automobile manufacturers American motorsport people American people of Italian descent Auto racing executives Duquesne University alumni Greenbrier Military School alumni Panoz Auto Development People from Alliance, Ohio American automotive businesspeople