Before Atanas Ilitch returned to his post at Ilitch Holdings, Inc...

from a 9.20.04 story in Crain's Detroit Business:

...Atanas Ilitch resigned as president of Olympia Entertainment nearly five years ago after taking on a challenge that nobody chooses - cancer.

"Healing is like war, getting better takes a good mental framework,'' Ilitch said last week. "You have to have a game plan.''

Ilitch, 41, won that war. Since then he has spent three years establishing a recording studio and a record label in Harper Woods called Soup Can Music Co.

Now, that studio is gaining attention as major stars such as Anita Baker, R. Kelly and Aretha Franklin record there. Plus, just last week Baker named Ilitch manager of her sponsorship and endorsement deals.

Ilitch, 41, is the fifth of seven children of Michael and Marian Ilitch, founders of Little Caesars Pizza, and Detroit-based Ilitch Holdings Inc., a holding company for 13 enterprises including the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings and Olympia Entertainment.

When Atanas Ilitch was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, in 1999, he was overseeing all the family's entertainment venues, including Joe Louis Arena, Cobo Arena, the Fox Theatre and Comerica Park. He also was vice president of the Red Wings.

Ilitch's far-reaching roles caused some to peg him as a future CEO candidate of Ilitch Holdings, but his battle with cancer derailed any such plans.

Ilitch resigned from Olympia Entertainment and the Red Wings in December 1999 to spend time with his family, recover his health and to figure out what he...