Marni J. Nygard, Esq., President and General Securities Principal, joined AEI in 2005. She is responsible for the implementation of AEI’s real estate acquisitions and its investment objectives and strategies, as well as the management of disposition processes for AEI.
Prior to joining AEI, Marni was employed as an attorney at CI Title in St. Paul, Minnesota for its residential and commercial property departments.
Kevin S. Steele serves as Chief Operating Officer for AEI Capital Corporation and has been with the company since 2012. As COO, Kevin’s core role is to lead the teams of Strategic Planning, Marketing, Technology, Human Resources, Investor Services, and Acquisitions Sourcing. Kevin was promoted to the position of COO following his role as Executive Vice President and Vice President Acquisitions. Kevin is responsible for creating the company’s strategic business plan and budgets, driving the company’s goals, designing, and implementing business processes, and establishing company policies that promote positive company culture and vision. As COO, Kevin helps maintain relationships with the company board of directors, bankers, and strategic partners.
Prior to joining AEI Capital, Kevin held commercial real estate leadership positions with Stan Johnson Company including Lead Broker focused on healthcare acquisitions, Director of Marketing & Research overseeing the firm’s marketing, research, and prospecting groups.
Kevin’s prior business and operational experience include owning and operating a retail grocery company in the Midwest and working for Sheraton Hotels and Resorts where he held leadership positions of increasing responsibility including Director of Sales and Marketing in San Francisco and London and Director of Partnerships and Strategic Alliances for Sheraton Hotels Worldwide at Sheraton World Headquarters in Boston.
Kevin is a past Vestry member of Grace Episcopal Church and is currently on the Grace Outreach Committee which provides support to impoverished adults and children throughout the world.
Keith Petersen, CPA, Chief Financial Officer, joined AEI in 2016. He is responsible for managing all AEI accounting and tax matters, including the preparation of SEC and investor reports.
Prior to joining AEI, Keith was employed with Pine River Capital Management as the Vice President of Tax compliance and with Deloitte Certified Public Accountants as a Senior Tax Manager.
Thomas D. Herstad is Senior Vice President of Compliance of AEI Fund Management, Inc. and is also a General Securities Principal of AEI Securities, Inc. He joined AEI Fund Management in 2023 and is responsible for managing the securities compliance requirements of affiliated companies and investment Funds.
Prior to joining AEI, he spent 15 years at The Oak Ridge Financial Services Group, Inc., a full-service wealth management firm and investment bank located in Golden Valley, Minnesota. He was hired as an investment banker, transitioned to finance, and then spent the last 10 years with the firm as the Chief Compliance Officer. He holds FINRA Series 7, 52, 79, 4, 14, 53, 66 and 24 licenses.
Paula R. Tillett, Executive Vice President – Distribution Director, joined AEI in 2002 and is responsible for overseeing all activity relating to the distribution of AEI’s Fund and 1031 offerings including oversight of the Fund and 1031 Sales Team, national broker-dealer and Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) relationship development and management, and coordinating the review and approval of AEI Fund and 1031 marketing.
Paula brings more than 25 years of Financial Industry experience to the AEI Team. Prior to joining AEI, Paula was employed with Piper Jaffray, Merrill Lynch, and Salomon Smith Barney (now Morgan Stanley). She holds FINRA Series 7, Series 66 and Series 31 licenses.
Paula is an avid animal lover and passionately supports The Humane Society of the United States, ASPCA, and other national and regional non-profit organizations focused on the rescue and well-being of animals.
Jon Stecher, Senior Vice President – Capital Markets and Strategy, joined AEI in 2023. In his role, Jon is responsible for driving growth and sustained profitably through fundraising efforts, formation of institutional capital partnerships, new strategic business initiatives, and investment strategies.
Prior to joining AEI Capital, Jon was a Principal and CFO at MedCraft Investment Partners and MedCraft Healthcare Real Estate along with a Director of Finance at Welltower (“WELL”), a publicly traded REIT. During his 16-year career in commercial real estate, he has been focused on equity and debt procurement, real estate development, investor relations, and full-cycle acquisition management.
Stacy McMahon, CCIM serves as the Senior Vice President of Asset Management for AEI Capital Corporation. In her role, Stacy is responsible for the financial and value enhancement of all AEI net lease properties under management, facilitating asset sales directly to property buyers or through real estate brokerage firms and serves as the lead professional responsible for tenant relations, lease renegotiation, and asset positioning.
Prior to joining AEI Capital, Stacy served as a Vice President of Asset Management overseeing a portfolio of homes for an affordable housing developer/owner. She was Director of Finance at a national, non-profit conservation organization where her focus was on the growth of urban parks and playgrounds programs in New York, Newark, Chicago and Philadelphia, including managing complex public-private funding joint ventures. During her career, Stacy has performed market and financial analysis for hotels, offices and residential developments, structured debt and equity financing packages for public and private entities and conducted negotiations and project evaluations on behalf of city agencies.
Stephanie Wallisch-Currier, Senior Vice President – Human Resources, joined AEI in 2014 and is responsible for AEI’s overall human resource function, ensuring legal compliance and implementation of the organization’s HR strategy. This position works closely with AEI’s Executive team to implement and manage effective employee relations, performance management, benefits, compensation, and talent acquisition practices.
Stephanie has more than 20 years of human resource experience. Prior to joining AEI, she was employed by USI and SPIRE Credit Union in their corporate human resources departments. She is certified through the Human Resource Certification Institute as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and through the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) as Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).