Richard A. Place , Principal

Rich has thirty years of experience in financial management and consulting, including accounting, financial analysis, business valuations, and mergers and acquisitions. He served as Director of Valuations with Alex Sheshunoff & Company Investment Banking for six years. He was responsible for delivering nearly 200 bank valuations each year for ESOPs, shareholder agreements, charitable gifts, estate taxes, ownership grants, fairness opinions, corporate reorganizations, and dissenter rights cases.

From 1990 to 1999, Rich was in mergers and acquisitions with Norwest Corporation, now Wells Fargo & Company. His responsibilities included financial modeling, managing due diligence, and supporting negotiations leading to the definitive agreement. He devised acquisition strategies and recommended specific targets in fifteen states; performed analysis on more than 250 banks and/or savings and loans; and managed 40 due diligence projects that led to 36 acquisitions with total assets exceeding $7.0 billion.

Prior to joining Norwest’s M&A department, Rich worked in investment banking with Norwest Corporation and First Bank System, both in Minneapolis , and has prior experience preparing business valuations and in public accounting. He has a BS degree in Finance from Drake University, an MBA with specializations in Finance and Economics from the University of Chicago, and his CPA certificate. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation from the CFA Institute and the Accredited Senior Appraiser designation from the American Society of Appraisers. Rich was an Adjunct Professor in the MBA program at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas where he taught corporate finance for four years.