Background
Zellerbach was born on January 17, 1892 in San Francisco, California, the son of Isadore Zellerbach, a paper company executive, and of Jennie Baruh.
Businessman Diplomat Industrialist
Zellerbach was born on January 17, 1892 in San Francisco, California, the son of Isadore Zellerbach, a paper company executive, and of Jennie Baruh.
Zellerbach graduated with a B. A. from the University of California in 1913.
Zellerbach then entered the Zellerbach Corporation, founded by his grandfather, as a counterman. In 1928 the Zellerbach Corporation merged with the Crown Williamette Corporation to become Crown Zellerbach, the nation's leading manufacturer of paper and paper products. Zellerbach became president of the new corporation. He succeeded his father as chairman in 1938. With little labor difficulty over a sustained period of time, Zellerbach came to have a national reputation as a labor expert. In 1945 President Harry S. Truman appointed Zellerbach as the United States employer delegate to the International Labor Organization Conference in Paris. He served as vice chairman of the organization from 1945 to 1948. In 1948 Paul Hoffman, head of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA), appointed Zellerbach head of the ECA mission to implement the Marshall Plan in Italy. After leaving the ECA in 1952, Zellerbach returned to private business activities, which were briefly interrupted in 1953 by duties as alternate United States delegate to the General Assembly of the United Nations. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed him to succeed Claire BoothÏ Luce as ambassador to Italy. He held the post until the conclusion of the Eisenhower administration. In 1961, Zellerbach returned to San Francisco and his business interests. In addition, he maintained membership in numerous companies, foundations, committees, councils, societies, and clubs. He was active in the symphony and opera associations of San Francisco and was a member of the board of directors of the American Red Cross. Zellerbach died on August 3, 1963 in San Francisco.
Zellerbach was a trustee of the Committee for Economic Development, chairman of the National Manpower, a member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and a director of the Foreign Policy Associates.
On June 29, 1916, Zellerbach married Hannah Fuld; they had two children.