Background
Bentley was born in Vienna, Austria to a Jewish family, the son of Leopold Bloch-Bauer and Antoinette Ruth Pick.
Bentley was born in Vienna, Austria to a Jewish family, the son of Leopold Bloch-Bauer and Antoinette Ruth Pick.
His family fled Vienna in 1938 after unsuccessfully trying to prevent the nationalization by the Nazis 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. Canfor went public in 1983 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
In 1970, Bentley became Executive Vice-President of Canfor Corporation and President in 1975.
In 1985, he became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, a position he held until 1995. From July 1997 to January 1998, he was again President and Chief Executive Officer. He stepped down as Chairman of the Board in 2009.
He has also served in numerous other volunteer positions including the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame, Canadian Golf Association, two independent school boards, and University of British Columbia Advisory Boards. In 2004, he was appointed Chancellor of the University of Northern British Columbia and held that post until mid 2007.
In 2005, his family was awarded a portion of United States$21.8-million in restitution payments for the theft of the family"s sugar refinery in Austria by the Nazis.
He was a director and is currently an honorary director of the Bank of Montreal, 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.