Petrilli is president and CEO of RFP Enterprises & Entertainment, a consulting and executive-services group. As a senior vice president and CFO of WQED Multimedia, which runs the local PBS station, he helped the company turn around its finances, and as the company's COO, oversaw a raise in revenues from $10 million to $28 million.

He has served on the boards of the Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta and the Pittsburgh Dance Council, and is an advisory member of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's facilities management committee.

Petrilli arrives as PBT, facing a deficit of $1 million, attempts to negotiate a pay cut with its musicians, who are already playing for well below scale. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the company may also be considering a merger with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, which merged with the Pittsburgh Dance Council in 2002.

Terrence S. Orr, the company's artistic director, said, "The engagement of Mr. Petrilli allows the staff, as well as myself, to focus on our core responsibilities. It is a positive step forward for PBT."