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

Christopher Olsen

MANAGING PARTNER

Christopher Olsen has advised on approximately 200 M&A transactions totaling more than $10 billion in aggregate value. He was the #1 ranked individual bank M&A advisor across the U.S. in 2025 based on deal count and has been for each of the past 7 years. His firm, Olsen Palmer, was the #1 sell-side bank M&A advisor nationwide in 2025 and top 3 overall, as ranked by deal count, according to S&P Global.

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

Mr. Olsen began his career in banking, working for both a regional bank and a community bank. He resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife and 2 daughters.

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).