The Life of Daniel Bollenbach

Located at 111 Old McHenry Road, the cement block building originally served as a blacksmith and wagon shop prior to being relocated around an intersection after Lake County widening the road in 1946.

Warehouse Supervisor Daniel Bollenbach and Buyer Stephen Hoffman have collaborated to dramatically reorganize CSI’s East Region Warehouse, more than doubling inventory, capacity, and availability within only months.

Early Life and Education

Bollenbach attended business school before working for billionaire shipping magnate Daniel Ludwig as his CFO and helping manage some of his hotel properties. Upon completing these positions he would go on to hold various financial management roles within Daniel’s company across industries including real estate and banking.

On the death of his mother, he took over their blacksmith and wagon shop business. Later he sold this to his brother before moving on to California.

While in California, he served as treasurer for Marriott and Chief Financial Officer of Holiday Corporation. His survivors include his wife Doris; three children (Robbin Zarbo, Sandra Fidalgo and Mark Bollenbach); two cherished grandchildren; as well as memorial contributions made according to family wishes with envelopes available at Long-Kloeppel Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Crocker.

Professional Career

Bollenbach may not have attended an elite university or learned his trade on Wall Street, yet his reputation as a financial maestro made him sought-after by numerous major companies. Bollenbach first got his start working in savings and loan business where he learned acquisition deals from Daniel K Ludwig’s estate business tycoon practice.

Onward to Marriott Corporation, where he played an instrumental role in overseeing the expansion of their Holiday Inn motel chain. Here he made an impactful contribution that spared Donald Trump personal bankruptcy by helping untangle complex debt transactions.

He engages in charitable work through the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, Earthwatch Institute and MAR Alliance – serving as trustee at Hamilton College as well as sitting on their respective boards of directors – while serving on those of SolarCity and Stream Energy respectively.

Achievement and Honors

He was an active member of the Special Forces Association and Chapter 46 in particular. A dedicated servant to his nation, he will be greatly missed by his wife Claudia Cochran, children Katie (John Ketterhagen) Belanger and Margo Rossi; two grandchildren as well as one great grandchild are left behind as testament to his dedication.

He was a remarkable individual who will be deeply missed by all. Always happy and entertaining, he loved his family deeply while lending a helping hand when needed. A very dear friend of all, he will be missed dearly but will never be forgotten as one of the best husbands, fathers, and brothers anyone could ask for.

Personal Life

Bollenbach, born of a milkman’s family in Pennsylvania and never attending an elite university or experiencing Wall Street life directly himself, nevertheless earned a stellar reputation for financial wizardry that earned his clients such as Marriott and Hilton families as well as Walt Disney Co to seek his services regularly.

He came to prominence during the 1990s for orchestrating the split of Marriott into two companies – one dedicated to hotel management, and another with debt-laden real estate assets – which served to enrich shareholders, particularly members of the Marriott family.

He then became Chief Financial Officer for Holiday Corporation, the operator of Holiday Inn motels. There he played an instrumental role in thwarting Donald Trump from taking control of it through leveraged buyout. Following that experience he accepted an appointment as nonexecutive chairman at Los Angeles-based KB Homes Inc.

Net Worth

Son of a Minneapolis barber, Robert Marriott amassed wealth through real estate investments, car dealerships, insurance and other businesses. Additionally, he helped run the family hotel chain, becoming president and chief executive in 1992. By splitting Marriott into hotel management company and debt-laden real estate firm his family members became wealthier while bondholders and preferred-stock investors became infuriated with him.

Bollenbach worked for shipping magnate Daniel Ludwig across industries ranging from real estate and banking before joining Marriott. As chief financial officer of Holiday Corporation – operator of Holiday Inn motels – in 1986, Bollenbach prevented investor Donald Trump from taking control of it through leveraged buyout.

Marvin Davis saw his net worth increase due to oil finds and higher petroleum prices, expanding it to approximately $1.6 billion. Former radio star Merv Griffin experienced his fortune increase dramatically with the sale of Beverly Hilton Hotel last year for $130 million.