Sir Arvi Hillar Parbo (10 February 1926 – 1 May 2019) was a business executive who was concurrently chairman of three of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

's largest companies, Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals,

Munich Re Munich Re Group or Munich Reinsurance Company (german: Münchener Rück; Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft) is a German multinational insurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the world's leading reinsurers. ERGO, a Muni ...

, and Zurich Australian Insurance.

Early life

Parbo was born in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

and fled from his homeland ahead of the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

in 1944, ending up in a

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...

(

DP camp DP may refer to: In arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre * '' Danny Phantom'', an animated television series * David Production, a Japanese animation studio * Director of photography, a job in filmmaking * Digital Playground, an ...

) in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. After attending the

Clausthal Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000. The City is the location of the Clausthal University of Technology. The health resort ...

Mining Academy in Germany from 1946 to 1948 he migrated to Australia in 1949. He graduated from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

with a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Bache ...

degree in 1955.

Career

Arvi Parbo joined

Western Mining Corporation Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

in 1956 and over the next 12 years held the positions of Underground Surveyor, Underground Manager, Technical Assistant to the managing director, and Deputy General Superintendent. He was appointed General Manager in 1968 and became a Director in 1970. He was appointed Deputy Managing Director in 1971 and became managing director in the same year. In 1974, Parbo was appointed chairman and managing director of Western Mining Corporation. In 1977, the Arvi Parbo Medal was awarded to an engineering student from the

for the first time. As of 2017, the Sir Arvi Parbo Medal is awarded annually, in partnership with

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

. In the 1978 New Year Honours, Arvi Parbo was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

for his service to industry. In 1986, Parbo relinquished his managing director position at Western Mining Corporation and became the company's Executive Chairman. In 1990 he retired as an executive but was appointed non-executive chairman and retired from this position in 1999. Parbo was Chairman of

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

of Australia from 1978 to 1996, Chairman of Munich Reinsurance Company of Australia from 1984 to 1998 and Chairman of Zurich Australian Insurance group from 1985 to 1998. He was appointed a Director of the

from 1980 to 1998, Hoechst Australian Investments from 1981 to 1997, Chase AMP Bank from 1985 to 1991 and

Sara Lee Corporation The Sara Lee Corporation was an American consumer-goods company based in Downers Grove, Illinois. It had operations in more than 40 countries and sold its products in over 180 countries. Its international operations were headquartered in Utrecht ...

from 1991 to 1998. In 1987, Parbo was appointed a director of

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

and was appointed chairman in 1989 until retirement in 1992. In June 1993 Parbo was appointed a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

and had his portrait painted by the artist,

William Dargie Captain (armed forces), Captain Sir William Alexander Dargie (4 June 1912 – 26 July 2003) was a renowned Australian painter, known especially for his portrait paintings. He won the Archibald Prize, Australia's premier award for portrait ...

. The work is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. Parbo was a

Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering There are almost 900 living fellows of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. The post-nominal is FTSE. The following lists many notable living and deceased Fellows. Post-nominal statistics ;Numbers of active/living Fellows i ...

(FTSE). He was the ATSE's president from 1995 to 1997. He was inducted Fellow of the

Royal Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in the state of Victoria in Australia. Foundation In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being ''The Philosophical Society of Victoria'' (fou ...

(FRSV) in 1997. Parbo died in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

on 1 May 2019, aged 93.

References

External links

"Some Inspirational People"
Profiled by Laurence MacDonald Muir. {{DEFAULTSORT:Parbo, Arvi 1926 births 2019 deaths People from Tallinn Estonian emigrants to Australia Australian businesspeople Australian Knights Bachelor Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Companions of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Estonian World War II refugees Naturalised citizens of Australia Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 2nd Class