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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

's largest companies, Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals,

Munich Re Munich Re Group or Munich Reinsurance Company () is a German Multinational corporation, multinational insurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is the world's largest reinsurance, reinsurer. ERGO Insurance Group, ERGO, a subsidiary of Munich ...

, and Zurich Australian Insurance.

Early life

Parbo was born in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

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

and fled from his homeland ahead of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

occupation in 1944, ending up in a

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, 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 in ...

(

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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. 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 town hosts the Clausthal University of Technology. The health resort is locat ...

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 is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

with a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution. In the United Kingdom, a Ba ...

degree in 1955.

Career

Parbo joined Western Mining Corporation 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), known formally as the Institution of Engineers, Australia, is an Australian professional body and Non-profit organization, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineerin ...

. In the 1978 New Year Honours, 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 Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

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 and was appointed non-executive chairman; he retired from this position in 1999. Parbo was Chairman of

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American 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 alu ...

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 Alcoa 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. The Sara Lee name was used of a number of frozen and packaged foods, often known for the long-running slogan "Everybody doesn't like something, b ...

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

BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...

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 Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

and had his portrait painted by the artist, William Dargie. The work is in the collection of the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

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 Victoria, Australia. Foundation In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science (found ...

(FRSV) in 1997. He was also granted an honorary fellowship of the

Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) provides services to professionals engaged in all facets of the global minerals sector and is based in Carlton, Victoria, Australia. History The Institute had its genesis in 1893 with ...

in 1997. Parbo died in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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