Peter C. Argianas, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Gold Coast Bank, has joined the DePaul University Board of Trustees. His appointment was announced following the board’s Oct. 29 meeting.

At 41 years old, with a background in tax and finance, Argianas has enjoyed an accomplished career that has included government and private practice. Argianas graduated from DePaul with a bachelor’s degree in commerce in 1990. He went on to earn a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license that same year. He began his professional career working for a public accounting firm before taking a job in bank supervision and regulation with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). While there, Argianas earned several multi-performance recognition awards and was appointed a commissioned examiner of financial institutions by the United States of America.

During the second half of his 10-year tenure with the FDIC, Argianas was assigned to the Chicago Regional Office, where he was responsible for deposit insurance applications and supervision of de novo banks—state banks that have been in operation for under three years.  Argianas also supervised merger and acquisition applications, and safety and soundness oversight for hundreds of banks and thrifts located within the multi-state FDIC Chicago Region.

Combining his FDIC experience and entrepreneurial spirit, Argianas expanded his scope and operated a private income tax and financial consulting practice. Upon leaving the FDIC, he founded several successful financial service companies, including his most recent, Gold Coast Bank, which was chartered in 2007. A Chicago-based full-service, federally insured commercial bank, Gold Coast has assets in excess of $125 million and has been recognized in the banking industry for its financial performance and efficiency.

Argianas is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and of the Illinois CPA society.  He will use his experience and financial skills to help guide DePaul into the future as a new member of its governing board.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Peter Argianas,” said the Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., president of DePaul. “He has earned a reputation as an innovative financial professional who understands business, and I am pleased that DePaul will benefit from having him as a member of its Board of Trustees.”

DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the nation and is the largest private, not-for-profit university in the Midwest.  Modeled on the teachings of St. Vincent de Paul that include access, diversity and respect for the individual, DePaul enrolled 25,072 students for the 2009-2010 academic year.