DISNEY EXECUTIVE LEAVES\Bollenbach to head Hilton Hotels Corp.

Byline: Russ Britt Daily News Staff Writer

Ten months after he joined Walt Disney Co., chief financial officer Stephen F. Bollenbach is leaving the Burbank-based entertainment giant to return to the hotel business.

Bollenbach will become president and chief executive of Hilton Hotels Corp., making him the first person outside the Hilton family to run the 77-year-old chain. He will be replaced at Disney by Richard Nanula, who held Bollenbach's post until he was appointed president of The Disney Store Worldwide in November 1994.

Bollenbach was chief executive of Host Marriott Corp. before joining Disney in April. He did not return phone calls.

"Steve Bollenbach has spent his entire career preparing for the position he has been offered at Hilton," Disney Chairman Michael Eisner said in a statement. "We are sorry to see him leave, but we understand that the unique opportunity to become CEO of Hilton is too attractive for him to turn down."

Bollenbach was instrumental in forging the $19 billion Disney-Capital Cities deal. He persuaded Eisner that interest rates were ideal for assuming a large amount of debt.

Bollenbach's appointment was made four months before Disney agreed to buy Capital Cities/ABC Inc. and hired talent agent Michael Ovitz to be president and second in command under Eisner. Prior to Ovitz's hiring, Bollenbach was widely thought to be the logical successor to Eisner.

Now he will become the third chief executive to run Hilton, succeeding Barron Hilton. Hilton took over the post in 1966 from his father, company founder Conrad Hilton. Conrad Hilton died in 1979.

Barron Hilton has eight children, including one son, David, who runs Hilton casino operations in Australia.

Company officials would not comment on why David Hilton would not succeed his father, but spokesman Marc Grossman said: "I believe he (Barron Hilton) found the best person for the job."

In a statement, Barron Hilton said Bollenbach was appointed to achieve the aggressive growth planned for the chain. The company has 240 hotels and gaming resorts throughout the world and employs 44,000 people.

Bollenbach is a native of Southern California and attended Lakewood High School, Long Beach City College, UCLA and California State University, Northridge, where he obtained a master's degree in management.

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