Inducted in 2007
Financial Services Executive
Member, Prep Board of Trustees (2000-2003)
Father of Two prep Graduates

Induction Video

The son of Emil and Gloria Petrilli, Frank Petrilli grew up in the Bronx, attending St. Joseph’s School before starting at Fordham Prep in September of 1964.  His homeroom teacher for that first semester was none other than fellow Hall of Honor member Fr. Jack Leonard, SJ., whom he has credited with giving him a solid start to his time at Rose Hill.  

During his Hughes Hall years, Frank ran track and participated in intramurals, winning the Track Program’s Silver Medal along the way. After graduating from the Prep in 1968, Frank attended Fordham University, receiving his bachelor's degree from the College of Business in 1972 and a master’s in business administration in 1974.  He would eventually go on to receive a CFA designation in 1986.

Throughout his career, Frank’s reputation as a business leader has been sterling, only outpaced by his outstanding record of service to his community. Early in his career, he spent 13 years in financial management positions at Colt Industries before he joined American Express, where he would become president and chief operating officer of American Express Centurion Bank. In January 1995, he joined TD Waterhouse, a leading online financial services company, also as president and COO and was named chief executive officer two years later. Among Petrilli’s innovations while he was at TD Waterhouse: online investing. 

Frank Petrilli has also served as CEO of Surge Trading, Inc. and as president and CEO of Nexxar Group, Inc. In January 2012, Frank was named chairman of the board at E*TRADE Financial Corporation. 

Frank has always been generous with both his time and talent in his service to Alma Mater and several other non-profit organizations. He has been a trustee at both Fordham Preparatory School and Fordham University and has served as president and trustee of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, vice chair of the American Red Cross in Greater New York, vice chair of the Health Care Chaplaincy, and as a member of the board of directors of the National Italian American Foundation. He has also endowed the Frank J. Petrilli Center for Research in International Finance at the Fordham Graduate School of Business. 

Moreover, Petrilli’s remarkable generosity to Fordham Prep assisted with the renovation of the library, and has provided tuition for young men, many from the Bronx, who would otherwise have been forced to turn down their admission to the school because of adverse financial circumstances — what an extraordinary legacy for a boy who himself once travelled to the Prep by bus from his East Bronx Unionport neighborhood

Frank and his wife Diana reside in Irvington, NY.  They are the parents of sons, Christopher, and Frank and Richard who graduated from the Prep in 1987 and 1989, respectively.