Alumnus Pledges $250K for International Finance Research Institute

Frank J. Petrilli (CBA ’72, GBA ’74), CEO of TD Waterhouse U.S.A., recently pledged $250,000 to Fordham Business Schools to establish the Frank J. Petrilli Endowed Center for Research in International Finance.

“Frank Petrilli's generous gift is helping Fordham Business honor central parts of its mission, in terms of its international focus and its deep concern for issues within the financial world,” said Sharon P. Smith, Ph.D., dean of Fordham Business Schools. “And how wonderful that the person responsible for this new center, which will have a substantial impact on both Fordham's undergraduate and graduate business programs, is himself a product of both schools.”

The new center will support scholarly research in the area of international finance and will be directed by James R. Lothian, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Finance. It will support a seminar series, a working paper series, occasional conferences, and provide supplemental support for faculty research and travel. The center will benefit from its location at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus in the international financial center of the world, as well as from Fordham Business's involvement with the Journal of International Money and Finance. Lothian, who brought the journal to Fordham when he joined the school in 1990, serves as editor while Cornelia McCarthy, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance, is associate editor. The journal is housed in and partly supported by Fordham Business.

“The center will enable Fordham Business not only to increase its strength and visibility in international finance and monetary economics, but I believe it will also have some positive effects for the rest of the University as well,” said Lothian. “Excellence in one discipline has a way of spilling over into others and also makes the classroom a much more intellectually exciting place.”

As chief executive officer of TD Waterhouse U.S.A., Petrilli oversees the firm's U.S. strategic development and growth. Prior to becoming CEO in January 2002, Petrilli was president and chief operating officer of TD Waterhouse Group, Inc., since 1999. From 1997 to 1999, he served as president and chief executive officer of Waterhouse Investor Services, Inc. Petrilli joined Waterhouse Securities in January 1995. He is also a director of the American Red Cross in Greater New York and of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City.