Eugene Pechet
Eugene Pechet | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Hirsch, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Died | August 23, 2008 (aged 91) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Ownership and management of hotels; co-founding Canadian Western Bank |
Eugene Pechet (September 22, 1916 – August 23, 2008) was a prominent Canadian entrepreneur in the hotel and banking sectors. Beginning with the acquisition of his first hotel in 1942, he ultimately owned and managed a portfolio of 25 hotels throughout Western Canada and the United States.
His grandfather, Mayer Pechet (born 1877 in Bucharest), immigrated to Saskatchewan in 1902 where he established a tinsmith business and raised eleven children. Eugene’s birthplace was Hirsch, Saskatchewan, a Jewish agricultural settlement. Following financial hardships during the Great Depression, the family moved to Edmonton in 1928. Eugene’s entry into hospitality commenced with his purchase of the Auditorium Hotel located in North Battleford in 1942.
Hotels
In 1972, Pechet’s Stage West hotel enterprise developed the Mayfield Inn in Edmonton, which became one of the city’s landmark accommodations. A notable feature was a unique Thai sala—a traditional teak pagoda measuring 100 square meters—brought in for the 1987 K-Days event. Pechet invested $50,000 to position this structure above the pool area at the Mayfield Inn.
After divesting the Mayfield Inn to SilverBirch Hotels in 2007, the property underwent a $65 million refurbishment completed by DoubleTree Hilton in 2014, a process that resulted in layoffs affecting approximately 200 staff members. The Thai sala was later sold through a closed-bid auction on Kijiji for around $12,000 and transported to Pechet’s private cottage on Okanagan Lake near Vernon, British Columbia.
The Mayfield Dinner Theatre continues to operate as a popular venue under its current management.
Banking industry involvement
Together with Charles Allard, Pechet co-established the Canadian Western Bank, initially known as the Bank of Alberta. The bank began with only three staff members working from an office situated within one of Pechet’s hotels. By the year 2010, Canadian Western Bank reported nearly $12 billion in total balance sheet assets, assets under administration exceeding $8 billion, and assets under management approaching $1 billion.