Bollenbach credits business leader D.K. Ludwig for much of his business and financial knowledge. From 1968 until 1990, Bollenbach held a series of financial management positions with the Ludwig Group, including Vice president of finance and assistant to the chief operating officer. During this tenure, he was closely involved with the development of the control infrastructure and with creating an environment that used a combination of preliminary control, concurrent control, and feedback control to increase organizational profit.