Biography:
William M. "Bill" Gallacher, a Calgary businessman who made his fortune in the oil industry, was the owner of the Portland Winterhaws from October 16, 2008 to May 7, 2020. He was also the owner of the Kloten Flyers from April 29, 2015 to May 2, 2016 and the Lausanne HC after his departure from Kloten.

While the Portland Winterhawks were succesful under his ownership, winning the WHL Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2013, his forays into Swiss hockey were less successful. Despite the initial grand plans, Kloten proved to be a financial disaster for his company, Avenir Sports Entertainment Ltd., which pushed him to pull the plug only after one season. He sold the team to Swiss businesmann Hans-Ulrich Lehmann. Lausanne HC did not prove to be a success either. He sold the Swiss holding company (2016 - Lausanne Hockey Holding SA / 2018 - Swiss Entertainment Company SA) that owned the team, the arena business and the restaurant business in order to cover the debts of the company through which he owned it, Audible Capital Corporation. It is unclear when his companies to over from Ken Stickney, but the team appears to have been in his ownership when the holding company was sold to Zdenek Bakala, Gregory Finger and Petr Svoboda on May 9, 2020. The ownership of the Portland Winterhawks was handed over to a receiver, KSV Kofman Inc., in bankruptcy proceedings for the same reasons on May 7, 2020. Gallacher had sought to sell the teams already in December 2018, but was unable to find buyers in time. COVID-19 also affected the market, limiting the number of potential buyers and dropping the price they were willing to pay.