Melvin “Mel” Goodes

If there is something worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”

That was one of the famous mottoes Melvin “Mel” Goodes, Com’57, LLD’94, would often repeat to his children. But it was also a message the renowned business leader and philanthropist practised himself. 

From pioneering one of the world’s most valuable heart medicines to donating millions to Alzheimer’s research and to Queen’s, Mr. Goodes did a lot right, say those who knew him. And he often did it all with a big smile and heaps of humility.

“He just wanted to leave the world a better place,” says Melanie Caceres, Mr. Goodes’ eldest daughter. “And he did.” 

Mr. Goodes passed away Sept. 30, 2024. He was 89. 

No doubt Mr. Goodes learned about doing things right from his parents, Mary and Cedric. Their Hamilton, Ont., household was a loving but hardscrabble one that a teenaged Mr. Goodes helped support with odd jobs, from delivering newspapers to digging graves.  

He took that work ethic with him to Queen’s as the first member of his extended family to attend university. 

“I believe he viewed education as a means to improve the quality of his life,” says Michelle MacDonald, Mr. Goodes’ second daughter. “And Queen’s was his pride and joy throughout his life because he attributed the opportunities he was given, as well as his success, to the education he received at Queen’s.”

After Queen’s, Mr. Goodes moved on to the University of Chicago, where he earned his MBA in 1960, buoyed by Ford Foundation and Sears Roebuck fellowships. He then worked at Canadian Economic Research Associates, Ford Canada, and Carling O’Keefe Breweries before joining Warner-Lambert Canada in 1965. 

He made his mark quickly at his new employer, a multinational pharmaceutical and consumer health-care products company, becoming its youngest-ever country manager. Mr. Goodes worked his way into senior leadership, largely in international operations, and was named CEO and chairman in 1991.

Mr. Goodes came to the helm of the company at a difficult time. Warner-Lambert’s productivity in pharmaceutical research was well behind that of its competitors. So was its market value, then sitting at about $9 billion, one of the lowest among global pharmaceutical companies. 

The turning point for Warner- Lambert came early in Mr. Goodes’ chairmanship, when he and his leadership team faced a decision: whether to fund an expensive clinical trial for a statin invented in the company’s labs. Even if approved, this new drug would square off against four other statins already on the market. Senior members of his leadership team urged Mr. Goodes to end development, citing the odds against commercial success.

But the two scientists closest to the drug disagreed, believing it could emerge superior to the competition. Their passionate pitch convinced Mr. Goodes to approve a clinical trial, one whose results would spark a stunning turnaround for Warner-Lambert. The new statin, trade named Lipitor, was introduced in 1996, with Pfizer as a marketing partner. Lipitor would become the largest-selling cardiovascular therapy in history.

That was Mr. Goodes to a T, says John Santoro, his longtime speechwriter at Warner-Lambert. “They talk about Ulysses S. Grant being able to size up a battlefield very quickly and make a decision. Mel was the same way. He had this boundless optimism. He chose good people, he trusted them to do the right thing, and he was almost always right.”

But as Mr. Santoro and Mr. Goodes’ wife, Nancy, agree, he would never take full credit for wins like Lipitor. 

“A hundred per cent humble,” says Mrs. Goodes. “My husband never used the word ‘I.’ It was always ‘we’ in referencing any success in the company, any of his personal success. That was who he was.”  

In 1999, one year after Mr. Goodes retired, Pfizer would buy Warner-Lambert for $110 billion.  

Mr. Goodes would go on to serve as a director of Ameritech, Chase Manhattan, and Unisys. He was also a member of the National Council on Economic Education’s executive committee. 

Through it all, his family says Mr. Goodes stayed true to himself. He was an optimist, a realist, a fervent believer in human potential. But he never took himself too seriously and never held back his huge laugh. He also never stopped singing O Canada at the top of his lungs at NHL games in the U.S. (despite the embarrassment of his kids).  

And he never forgot his first alma mater in Kingston, where he served as a member of the Board of Trustees and was awarded an LLD in 1994.

He also donated $10 million in 2001 to help build a new home for the university’s School of Business in a building now called Goodes Hall in honour of his parents.

Mr. Goodes said at the time that his father’s sacrifices, which enabled him to attend university, inspired him to help other young people access the same opportunity.

Later, there was a further donation of $5 million to expand the building. This was completed in 2012. In addition, Mr. Goodes established the Monieson Centre for Business Research at Smith School of Business, recognizing his longtime mentor, Professor Dan Monieson. 

Through his foundation, Mr. Goodes also created the Melvin R. Goodes Entrance Award to support students entering an undergraduate program at Queen’s. 

In 2010, Mr. Goodes made a stunning public announcement: he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He and Mrs. Goodes became key supporters of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, devoted to finding and developing new therapies. An outgrowth of their support is the Melvin R. Goodes Prize for Excellence in Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery, given annually to speed the work of promising approaches to Alzheimer’s diagnosis and treatment.   

Just after Mr. Goodes was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he recorded a video of himself for his grandkids that wasn’t viewed until after he passed. 

His son, David, had the chance to watch it last fall.  

“It was this really heartfelt message about education and separating yourself through effort,” says David. “And that no matter what you do, whether you’re a CEO or a sanitation worker, you can still be the best one you could possibly be.” 

And, of course, that famous Mel Goodes motto came through loud and clear, says David: “If there is something worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”