Alerus Expands Commercial Real Estate Lending Team

PHOENIX, ARIZONA (November 15, 2023) – Alerus is pleased to announce the addition of two senior commercial real estate lending professionals in the Arizona market.

Katie Peterson has joined Alerus as a senior commercial real estate lending advisor based in the company’s Scottsdale office. She has nearly 15 years of financial industry experience and has specialized in commercial real estate lending throughout her career. Before joining Alerus, she served as commercial banking group manager at First Interstate in Scottsdale, where she led a team of CRE lenders serving owners and developers in the Phoenix metro.

Scott Willits has joined Alerus as a senior commercial real estate lending advisor based in the company’s Phoenix office. He has more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate financing and commercial lending in the Arizona market. Before joining Alerus, Scott spent over 11 years as a commercial loan officer at Pinnacle Bank/Arizona Financial Credit Union where he focused on providing commercial real estate finance for investment and owner-occupied opportunities.

“Katie and Scott bring incredible depth of experience and local market knowledge to our team and enhance our ability to serve local, regional and national development and construction clients,” said Andrew Meelberg, director of CRE lending at Alerus. “We’re thrilled to welcome them to the team and look forward to continuing to expand our CRE portfolio in the vibrant Phoenix market and beyond.”

About Alerus

Alerus (Alerus Financial, N.A.) is a diversified financial services company that provides innovative and comprehensive financial solutions to businesses and consumers through four distinct business segments — banking, retirement and benefit services, wealth management, and mortgage. These solutions are delivered through a relationship-oriented primary point of contact along with responsive and client-friendly technology.

Alerus has banking, mortgage, and wealth management offices in Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota, the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area, and Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Mesa, Arizona. Alerus Retirement and Benefits plan administration hubs are located in Minnesota, Michigan, and Colorado.