Peter John Gerald Bentley, (1930 – 6 September 2021) was a Canadian businessman and the third

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the University of Northern British Columbia.

Early life and education

Bentley was born in Vienna, Austria to a Jewish family, the son of Leopold Lionel Bloch-Bauer and Antoinette Ruth Pick.New York Times: "For Betrayal by Swiss Bank and Nazis, $21 Million" By WILLIAM GLABERSON
14 April 2005 His aunt was Maria Altmann, and his great-aunt was Adele Bloch-Bauer, of the

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I ''Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I'' (also called ''The Lady in Gold'' or ''The Woman in Gold'') is a painting by Gustav Klimt, completed between 1903 and 1907. The portrait was commissioned by the sitter's husband, , a Jewish banker and sugar ...

. His family fled Vienna in 1938 after unsuccessfully trying to prevent the nationalization by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

of the family business, one of the largest sugar mills in Austria which supplied twenty percent of the country's sugar. The facility was later sold to a Nazi sympathizer for a nominal cost. They moved to British Columbia where his father, who changed his name to Leopold "Poldi" Bentley, founded a furniture and paneling veneer company called Pacific Veneer with his brother-in-law John Prentice (of the Pick family) that later became Canfor Corporation, an integrated forest products company. Canfor went public in 1983 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Bentley died peacefully in his sleep on 6 September 2021 at the age of 91.

Career

In 1970, Bentley became executive vice-president of Canfor Corporation and president in 1975. In 1985, he became chairman and CEO, a position he held until 1995. From July 1997 to January 1998, he was again president and CEO. He stepped down as chairman of the board in 2009. He was a director and an honorary director of the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...

, a member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, and a member of the board of directors of the Vancouver General Hospital & University of British Columbia Hospital Foundation. He has also served in numerous other volunteer positions, including the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the Vancouver Police Foundation, Canadian Golf Association, two independent school boards, and UBC advisory boards. In 2004, he was appointed chancellor of the University of Northern British Columbia and held that post until mid 2007.Bloomber
Peter Bentley profile
Page accessed 3 March 2016

Recognition

In 1983, he was made an officer of the Order of Canada for playing "an important role in manufacturing, business and finance in British Columbia."

Personal life

In 2005, his family was awarded a portion of US$21.8-million in restitution payments for the theft of the family's sugar refinery in Austria by the Nazis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Peter 1930 births 2021 deaths Austrian emigrants to Canada Businesspeople from Vancouver Canadian university and college chancellors Canadian Jews Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss Canadian people of Austrian-Jewish descent Officers of the Order of Canada University of Northern British Columbia faculty