Past-Presidents

APEGA has existed for more than 100 years, and for every year of its existence, there has been a president of Council to uphold the pillars that APEGA stands for: integrity, accountability, innovation, and service. Through the decades of change and growth, the men and women listed below led APEGA’s Council.

They have worked across the globe, from Mississippi to Venezuela, but all settled their talents here in Alberta. Each came from different walks of life, from serving in the Second World War, to teaching aeronautics, to instigating first-time overseas ventures. This incredible group of outstanding people made their mark on the world and helped make APEGA what it is today.

1932: Robert J. Gibb, P.Eng.

Born in Kinross, Scotland, Robert Gibb began his engineering career as an apprentice in Edinburgh then worked for several Scottish engineering firms, mainly on waterworks construction projects, before emigrating to Canada in 1907.

After serving with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway for seven years, Gibb was hired by the City of Edmonton in 1913 as a resident engineer. He was later promoted to waterworks superintendent and in 1937 became city commissioner, a post he held until retiring in 1946.

For the next four years he continued serving the city as a consultant, planning Edmonton's enormous post-war sewer expansion program. In working for a fraction of the standard consultant fee, Gibb saved taxpayers thousands of dollars during a time of expensive municipal developments and cash shortages.

Gibb was a key figure in founding the Association of Professional Engineers of Alberta (APEA; now The Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta) and lobbying Alberta's legislature to incorporate The Engineering Profession Act. He was elected to the first council in 1920 and served the association a total of 12 years, including terms as vice-president in 1931 and president the following year. He passed away in 1958.