Olsen Palmer professionals draw on extensive M&A and financial services experience to provide innovative, thoughtful advice.

Christopher Olsen

MANAGING PARTNER

Christopher Olsen, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Olsen Palmer LLC, has been advising financial institutions for the entirety of his career including on more than 150 M&A transactions totaling more than $10 billion in total transaction value. He is the #1 ranked individual bank M&A advisor across the entire U.S. based on the number of such transactions advised upon over the past 5 years, according to S&P Global.

Mr. Olsen holds an MBA from Columbia University and a BBA from The George Washington University. He also completed additional professional studies at Columbia Law School on M&A Law and through the American Bankers Association's Institute of Banking.

Prior to co-founding Olsen Palmer, Mr. Olsen worked in the investment banking divisions of Morgan Stanley, Houlihan Lokey, and Hovde Financial. He began his career in community banking, first at Norwest Bank (now Wells Fargo) then at a 3-branch community bank.

Originally from the Midwest, Mr. Olsen now resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife and 2 children.

Brian Palmer

PRESIDENT

Mr. Palmer’s expertise encompasses enterprise and asset valuation, M&A, and internal and external strategic consulting.

Before founding Olsen Palmer, Mr. Palmer served with Bank of America as a Vice President of Corporate Strategy. Prior to Bank of America, Mr. Palmer focused on project finance and infrastructure investment as part of the strategic consulting arm of Parsons Brinckerhoff, one of the largest engineering firms in the U.S.  Mr. Palmer began his career with First Annapolis Consulting, a management consulting and M&A advisory firm that focuses on the banking, payments, and financial technology sectors.

Mr. Palmer holds a Master of Science in Finance from the University of Colorado and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Maryland where he graduated Cum Laude.

He is also licensed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as an Investment Banking Representative (Series 79), a Uniform Securities Agent (Series 63), and a General Securities Principal (Series 24).