Employees of SkyView Partners talking at SkyView Partners facility

MISSION

People, Community, and Independence

Culturally, our firm strives to attract the best talent in the industry at every position and empower them to instruct our Leadership Team on how to proceed.

Our Organization is dedicated to the preservation of the small business owner in the independent and registered investment advisory community. We strive to offer the independent and registered advisor lending & funding requisite to compete with industry consolidators who threaten the existence of small business ownership.

For more information on SkyView®, our mission, and to see some of our most frequently asked questions, visit our FAQs page.

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Katie Bruner

President - SkyView Holdings
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Katie brings over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry to the SkyView Partners team. Currently, she oversees sales, marketing, and distribution for SkyView Partners, in addition to loan sourcing through strategic partnerships and multi-medium channels. In January 2021, Katie assumed the role of leading overall strategy and M&A initiatives for SkyView Investment Bank. Prior to SkyView, Katie served as a Director - National Accounts at Principal Financial Group for 13 years, where she was responsible for cultivating and growing the major independent and regional broker relationships. Before joining Principal, Katie was employed by Fidelity Investments in their non-profit retirement plan group. Katie graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economics and International Relations from the University of California, Berkeley.

Securities Exams Passed: Series 7 and 63

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Nick Barker

Chief Banking Officer
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Nick has a strong background in commercial banking. Before joining SkyView, he led a team of commercial underwriters at a publicly-traded bank. Prior to that role, Nick worked as a commercial underwriter for various banks ranging from small community banks to trillion-dollar asset holders. Throughout his career, Nick has developed and implemented several credit policies, procedures, and models which have featured cash flow and professional service lending. Nick graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of St. Thomas, with a degree in Finance.
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Annaliese Buhl

Senior Associate
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Annaliese joined SkyView in 2022 as a Junior Associate. Prior to her career in finance, she spent over eight years in the service industry. Annaliese also interned at Schawk, now SGK, a Global Marketing services provider for many Fortune 100 companies, where she reported to the Head of their Minneapolis studio and worked in project management, client relations, and administrative roles. In 2017, Annaliese lived in India and Nepal for two months with an organization called YWAM-Youth With A Mission. In 2020, she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations and Organizational Communication from the University of Minnesota.

Will Campbell

Sales Director
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Will is a recent graduate of the University of California, San Diego where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Real Estate Development and a Minor in Business. Will competed on UC San Diego’s NCAA D1 Men’s Volleyball team. Previously, Will worked at Skyview Partners as a Summer Sales Associate where he prospected sell-side investment banking clients and listings as well as facilitated buyer/seller introduction calls and meetings for the Investment Bank. In his new role, Will, as the Sales Director of SKYVIEW 1, is responsible for sourcing leads and conducting SKYVIEW 1 demos as well as assisting each advisor during the retail client onboarding process. Will is excited to bring his competitive and strategic nature into the sales market for SKYVIEW 1.

Daniel Cohoes

Chief Technology Officer
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Daniel directs SkyView’s suite of technology functions and is responsible for optimizing the company’s business operations and efficiencies. By partnering with executive leadership, Daniel enhances the company’s competitive advantage through the buildout and development of existing and new technology infrastructure. Daniel has over 15 years of experience in a variety of communication and website platform management services, and most recently, Daniel worked at a global industrial automation company as a digital communication specialist.
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Ben Collins, CFA

Chief Investment Officer
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Ben has more than nine years of experience in the wealth management industry conducting investment research and analysis. Ben was most recently a portfolio manager and analyst at Merrill Lynch where he conducted investment research and built and managed discretionary model portfolios. He has also spent time as an equity analyst with Provenire Capital, a long/short equity hedge fund, and as a research analyst at Slocum, an institutional consulting firm where he focused on alternative investments and operational due diligence.

Ben holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and is an active member in the CFA® Society Minnesota and CFA® Institute. He received his Bachelor's of Science from the University of Minnesota.

Securities Exams Passed: Series 7 and 66

Michelle Demond-Axelrod

Head of Product
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Michelle serves as the Head of Product at SKYVIEW 1, bringing with her over 20 years of experience in building, launching, and managing bespoke software products. Her extensive background in fintech, specifically in mortgage and banking, coupled with her expertise in developing collaboration software for financial services companies, make her an invaluable asset in creating customer-centric solutions for SKYVIEW 1’s B2B and B2C markets. Previously, Michelle held the position of Principal Product Manager at Lower.com.

Aaron Dillon

Co-Founder
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Aaron is the managing director of AG Dillon & Co, a venture capital firm and technology consultancy. Prior to AG Dillon & Co, Aaron was a managing director at SoFi’s Galileo Financial Technologies division, where he launched a fintech challenger bank for independent financial advisors and helped countless fintech startups launch their banking businesses. He started a wealth management division for the London Stock Exchange Group’s index business, FTSE Russell, the largest index company globally. Aaron was the co-founder and managing director for KraneShares ETFs, a $10+ billion exchange traded fund company. He was a member of the investment products teams at TD Ameritrade and Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Aaron headed the $160 billion mutual fund and ETF platform across the self-directed and RIA businesses at TD Ameritrade. Aaron is an alumni of Ohio State University.
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Ellen Dobbins

Loan Closing Director
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Ellen joined the SkyView team in March of 2021, where she assists in the early stages of the underwriting process through document collection and completion of opportunity memorandums. Ellen also helps manage and optimize SkyView’s CRM as a System Administrator. Before her role at SkyView, Ellen worked in the customer service industry while pursuing an education at Minnesota State University, Mankato. During her time at MSU, Ellen participated in writing research essays and engaged in several volunteer opportunities, which she continues to be a part of today.

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Aaron Hasler

Managing Partner & Co-Founder
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Aaron brings 19 years of industry experience, focusing exclusively on advisory practice mergers and acquisitions consulting in the wealth management industry. Prior to SkyView, Aaron founded an M&A Consulting and executive recruiting firm, Northrop Consulting, providing sell-side representation to wealth management firms wherein he developed a strategy entitled Generational Partnerships to promote long-range succession planning with short term growth, and fueled the industry with talent through executive and experienced employee advisor recruiting. Prior to founding his consulting firm, Aaron was a Regional Director of Branch Development with LPL Financial, the largest independent broker-dealer. A background in compliance and business process management, as well as developing small to mid-sized businesses allows him to understand the advisor experience and the intricacies of wealth management firms. He has a BA from St. Olaf College where he majored in Economics and minored in English.

Securities Exams Passed: SIE

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Kayla Hagedorn

Managing Director - Digital Marketing & Communications
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Kayla has five years of marketing and communications experience in the financial services industry. Before joining the SkyView team in 2018, Kayla worked in public relations at Thrivent Financial, followed by a service representative position at Securian Financial. She holds her Certified Digital Marketing Professional (CDMP) certification from the Digital Marketing Institute and her Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) certification from the American Marketing Association. Kayla graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities in 2016 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism, specializing in Strategic Communication.

Kylee Irwin-Paz

Office Manager
Kylee graduated from Cal State University Long Beach in the Fall of 2022 with a bachelor's degree in Health Science. Prior to her time in the financial services industry, Kylee worked as a phlebotomist, medical assistant, volleyball coach, and server. In 2022, she joined the SkyView team as Manager of the SkyView Investment Banking office in Manhattan Beach, CA.
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Sarah Jensen

Chief Relationship Manager
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Sarah has been working in the commercial banking industry since 2014. Before starting at SkyView, she was an underwriter on commercial real estate loans that focused primarily on acquisitions, refinance, new construction, and land development. Her role later transitioned into working on the documentation side to prepare loans for closing while meeting and satisfying various regulations and compliance standards. Working on the closing side, she handled roughly 140 loan closings per year. Her prior accomplishments within her previous roles included creating and updating new procedures that focused on accuracy and efficiency. Sarah graduated with a bachelor's degree in Finance from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Chris Jewett

Managing Partner & Co-Founder
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Chris has over 12 years of experience in the financial services industry. Most recently, Chris served at Morgan Stanley as a Financial Advisor, Assistant Branch Manager, Area Sales Manager, and Complex Sales Manager in the Upper Midwest. Prior to joining SkyView Partners, Chris owned and operated midstream service companies in the energy sector in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. He is very involved with and sits on the board of directors and advisory councils for a number of non-profits and 501c(3) organizations. Chris is an accomplished competitive sailor who has competed both nationally and internationally and won multiple National Sailing Championships. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and graduated from an executive education program at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Securities Exams Passed: Series 7, 9, 10, 31, 63, 65, and SIE

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Nihaara Johnson

Managing Director, Investment Banking
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Nihaara has a wide and varied career background, spanning finance, tech and sales. She began her finance career in consulting as a Municipal Advisor to state and city governments and utilities, advising on primary bond issuance and other debt program management strategies. In this role, Nihaara and her team equipped issuer clients to best position themselves for successful securities sales, helping them to identify deal structures that complemented their debt portfolios and to select strategic investment bank partners. After a brief stint working with real estate investors, Nihaara led a market development team at a property-tech startup, bringing her penchant for picking out key indicators and strong analytical skills to tactically expanding its market. Nihaara has served on two nonprofit boards, including the opportunity to increase alumni engagement for her alma mater as Alumni Director for Los Angeles. Nihaara received her Bachelor’s Degree in a hybrid study of linguistics, rhetoric and social research methods from Point Loma Nazarene University.

Securities Exams Passed: Series 50

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Maria Kamlowsky

Chief Operating Officer
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Maria joins SkyView with nearly a decade of fintech experience, specializing in new products and capabilities. Maria started her career at a Fortune 500 bank, launching and scaling major co-branded and private label credit card programs, with the largest exceeding $3.5B in annual receivables. She left to support early-stage growth companies in 2020, where she conceptualized, launched, and scaled consumer finance and insurance products for a direct-to-consumer mortgage company. Maria volunteers her time advising financials for a 501(c)(3) organization at her alma mater, Ohio University, where she graduated with a BBA from the College of Business. Maria is also a graduate of the Ralph and Luci Schey Sales Centre at Ohio University.

Macy Mayfield

Project Manager & APBOE Director
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Macy Mayfield graduated from Texas State University, specializing in hospitality and public relations. She initially worked in public relations, project management, social media, and marketing for various clients in the entertainment industry. Later, she expanded her career into financial services and joined the Skyview Team in 2020. At SkyView, Macy oversees public relations, social media, and event planning. Additionally, she works as a project manager and lead representative for off-market listings in the Investment Banking division. Macy also serves as a Director at the Advisory Practice Board of Exchange (APBOE), where she assists financial advisors during the initial stages of buyer diligence and helps them enhance their capabilities as buyers throughout the acquisition process.
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Kim McGraw

Chief Marketing Officer
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Kim has over 30 years’ experience in the marketing/design industry. For over 20 years she has served as an independent design consultant for a variety of firms. Prior to owning her own business, Kim worked initially as an Art Director, then became Creative Director at American Express Financial Advisors, partnering with many different parts of the company to help develop their marketing initiatives. She also worked as a Senior Designer for five years at Spangler Design Team. Kim has a B.F.A., Communication Design, from College of Visual Arts.

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Jim Melland

Chief Credit Officer
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Jim has been a part of the SkyView team since 2018 and has 13+ years of experience in commercial banking. He has significant cash flow lending experience, specifically in advisory loans from his tenure as a commercial banker at Anchor Bank. Jim was instrumental in developing a national financial advisory loan program and growing the leveraged lending portfolio at Anchor. Prior to Anchor Bank, Jim spent six years in various credit roles at two community banks. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from St. Cloud State University in Finance.

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John Merante, CFA

Chief Economist
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John has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining SkyView, John served as the Senior Economist and Macro Strategist for Principal Portfolio Strategies, a boutique multi-asset manager with over $90 billion in AUM. Before joining Principal, John worked at Neuberger Berman as the key contact on International and Emerging Markets Equities team for consultants, clients and prospects. John also worked as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers where he provided financial advice to emerging market governments, including the Finance Ministry and Central Bank of Indonesia in the wake of the Asia Financial Crisis. Before joining the financial industry, John was a Foreign Service officer and economist at the U.S. Department of State and was posted in Caracas, Bangkok and Washington, D.C.

John was graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in History and received a M.Sc. in Finance from George Washington University. He holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Tina Moore

Chief Strategy Officer
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Tina joins the SKYVIEW 1 team with nearly a decade of experience in the financial services industry with a proven history of formulating and implementing strategic initiatives for top-tier banks and disruptive fintechs.

Beginning her career in financial services at American Express, Tina lead the development of products across both consumer and commercial business units. While at Amex she also cultivated partnerships for American Express’ Membership Rewards program, as well as loyalty propositions across their flagship Gold, Platinum & Centurion Card products.

Prior to joining SKYVIEW 1, Tina played a pivotal role in the development and implementation of the ground-breaking Bilt Rewards loyalty program and credit card, in collaboration with industry giants Wells Fargo and Mastercard. This first-of-a-kind program revolutionized the industry by allowing consumers to earn points on rent payments. 

As Chief Strategy Officer at SKYVIEW 1, Tina now spearheads the development and execution of the company's strategic initiatives to foster both growth and innovation.

Tina graduated from Dublin City University with a B.A. in Communications and later from DCU Business School with an M.Sc. in Marketing.

Oshua Moreno

Senior Software Engineer
Oshua has been doing software for the past two decades. He has built web and mobile applications over several industries and in different countries including Mexico, Israel and the United States. Within the past decade, he has developed proprietary solutions for Fortune 500 companies and has helped to create and launch dozens of new software products. In the past few years, he has focused on innovating and automating processes on the fintech space, working as a Senior Software Engineer for a lead mortgage originator. He is passionate about Machine Learning, AI and about building software with a customer centric approach.

Kolten Pingeon

Senior Credit Analyst
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Kolten brings over four years of banking experience and three years of commercial underwriting experience in M&A, C&I, and commercial real estate to SkyView Partners. Before joining SkyView, Kolten was a Senior Credit Analyst at Choice Financial. He also worked as a Credit Analyst at Pioneer Bank and Drake Bank. Kolten graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato, with a B.S. in Corporate Finance.

Brian Riazzi

Senior Software Engineer
Brian has over a decade of experience in frontend and mobile development with companies like Victoria’s Secret, Starbucks, and Williams Sonoma. He currently works on Skyview 1’s upcoming mobile app and digital banking platform. He excels at delivering the best customer experiences possible with his data-driven UX development practices. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Toledo in 2011.

Arno Springer

Senior Software Engineer
Arno Springer is a Fullstack Software Engineer developing for SKYVIEW 1 with over 5 years of experience in building business solutions using web-based technology. Proficient in mostly C# and JavaScript, Arno has a track record of building successful applications, including a cross-platform adjudication platform for a vehicle warranty company. He has also contributed to the development of the fastest mortgage application form and a custom boutique UI component library. Arno's entrepreneurial spirit led him to start his own software consulting business while also creating websites for local pizza shops.
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Martin Weber

Sales Desk Manager
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Martin has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Most recently, Martin served as an Investment Consultant at Scottrade. Prior to this role, he spent over 16 years as an Investment Executive at Feltl and Company where he helped clients meet their financial goals, created personalized investment portfolios, and raised start up capital for private and public companies. Martin excels in delivering a high level of customer care and service. He graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from Saint Johns University.

Securities Exams Passed: Series 7 and 66

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Scott Wetzel, JD

CEO & Co-Founder
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Scott has over 19 years of experience in the financial services industry. Most recently, Scott served as the Senior Director of Wealth Management for Principal Financial Group for 13 years. Scott acquired over $7 billion in assets in his tenure. In 2002, Scott co-founded Locorr - a third-party national distributor of alternative investments. In 2006, Scott founded WallSteetUnites.org (WSU), a 501(c)3 that coordinates charitable events for advisors nationwide. In 2017, he received the Presidential Lifetime Volunteer Service Award. Scott received his Juris Doctorate from William Mitchell and a BBA in Finance and Business Economics from the University of Notre Dame. Currently, Scott serves on the Forbes Finance Council as a Contributing Editor.

Securities Exams Passed: Series 7, 26, 31, 63 and 79

Jon Wilber

Founding Engineer
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Jon currently oversees SKYVIEW 1’s engineering efforts and is responsible for shaping the company’s technology and development strategy. He has over a decade of experience in software development and technology management, including Amazon leadership experience at the home office in Seattle, Washington. In addition, Jon has also consulted for top fintech and financial services companies in the Midwest, focusing on deepening client relationships.

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