About Us
Our Team

Derek Smith
President / CEO

Mark Sorensen
Senior Vice President, Operations
Mark brings 35+ years of experience in equipment finance, banking and insurance agency ownership. His scope of responsibility at AILCO includes credit review, documentation, collections and equipment management. Previous and current experience is in mid-ticket and small ticket financing. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration graduate of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Outside of the office, Mark has been a certified high school basketball referee for 35+ years, as well, and is proud to have officiated at eight Wisconsin state basketball tournament finals. He also enjoys travel and golf, including attendance at many professional golf events.

Connor Stoming
Portfolio Manager

Chris Hatcher
Controller
Chris has 7 total years of experience in the accounting field, with over 5 years in public accounting. He received his Master’s degree from UW-Whitewater back in 2015 and attained his CPA license the following year. Chris oversees the accounting team, and some of his primary responsibilities include issuing complete and timely financial statements as well as assisting management in making important financial decisions.

Debbie Vogel
Staff Accountant
Debbie joined the AILCO team in February of 2022 bringing with her, 20+ years of Accounting related experience in a wide variety of industries. She is a life-long Wisconsin resident and enjoys cooking & spending time outdoors.

Brian Alberti
Accounting Manager
Brian joined the AILCO team in March of 2022 bringing with him over 20 years of accounting experience in the manufacturing sector. He received a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Lakeland College, and a second bachelor’s degree in Operations and Materials Management from UW-Eau Claire.

Kathy Nies
Documentation/Sales Support
Kathy has over 30 years of experience in the banking and financing industry, serving in a variety of different roles. She started her professional career in customer service and had served as Branch Supervisor and Executive Assistant to the President of a local bank. Kathy joined AILCO in 2012 and primarily works in operations, preparing loan documentation and providing back-office support as Sales Operations Specialist. In her spare time, Kathy enjoys spending time with family, traveling, reading, and playing volleyball.

Jeanne Zeske
Credit Administration
Jeanne Zeske is a Credit Manager. She works closely with the relationship managers to structure and approve a variety of credit solutions for its customers. Prior to joining AILCO, Jeanne spent over 35 years in commercial banking in sales, portfolio management, and credit risk management roles. She has a BBA in Finance from UW Madison and was a scholarship athlete on the women’s golf team. She still has a passion for golf and enjoys playing with her husband and two sons. Outside of golf, Jeanne enjoys biking, spectator sports, volunteering for her church, and recently started mentoring young women through Notre Dame Middle School in Milwaukee.

Tom Rude
Senior Vice President, Sales
Tom has been in the Equipment Finance and Leasing industry his entire career, beginning in 1981. Tom partners with your company’s ownership and management to provide flexible, creative, and relationship-based equipment finance structuring solutions in all kinds of industries and equipment/asset types. Based in Waukesha WI, he also has many years of successful experience working as a partner to those that need Equipment Finance expertise for their client base (i.e. local banks, equipment dealers/manufacturers, other finance companies, and various other centers of influence). In addition, Tom continues to serve as the President of the Wisconsin Equipment Finance Association, including being the local link to our national group, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association.

Scott Woodring
Vice President, Sales

Martin Dickson
Senior Vice President, Sales
Marty Dickson brings over 40 years of sales experience and funding expertise to AILCO. Working with transaction sizes primarily up to $1,000,000, Marty would be considered a generalist with experience touching all credit grades and collateral types. Prior to joining AILCO, Marty previously worked primarily for banking organizations including M&I Bank, American Chartered Bank, Busey Bank and American National Bank. Marty works out of the Chicagoland area and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University as an undergrad (BS in Finance) and has a Master’s Degree from Illinois Institute of Technology (MBA with a specialization in finance). A father of two and grandfather of one, Marty resides in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Tom Casanova
Vice President, Sales