[1][2] Because of his work with Prudential, which included instigating the return of unclaimed funds to beneficiaries, Volk was recruited as chairman and chief executive officer of Union Bank of California in 1957.

During the bleak days of the mid-1970s, as banks began to fail, Volk managed reductions in staff through attrition, telling a reporter: “There were no wholesale firings.

[2] While still at Prudential, Volk was asked to head a Los Angeles citizens committee to resolve disputes involving the United Way fund-raising campaign and its recipient charities.

Volk set up what he called Associated In-Group Donors, an innovative system for voluntary contributions by employees through payroll withholding.

With that, he persuaded United Way to accept policies for collecting and distributing donations, including a “donor choice” option directing how a contribution could be allotted.

He helped found many cultural institutions, including the Music Center and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.