ISAAC PALMER
MANAGING partner & FOUNDER
30+ YEARS OF ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE AS AN INVESTMENT BANKER, LAWYER, PRINCIPAL INVESTOR AT A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR ALTERNATIVE ASSET MANAGEMENT FIRM AND SENIOR FINANCIAL EXECUTIVE AT A MAJOR STUDIO.
With over 30 years of entertainment and media industry experience as an investment banker, a principal investor at Fortress Investment Group and a senior financial executive at Paramount Pictures, Palmer has been “on both sides of the table” structuring, negotiating and closing profitable deals. Based in Los Angeles, Palmer has a multifaceted understanding of the industry’s dynamics and economics, maintains long-standing relationships with a broad range of industry investors and executives, and has proprietary knowledge of the transaction market.
At Qualia, Palmer has helped to launch numerous entertainment companies by sourcing capital, such as for Crossroads Live, now one of the world’s most important presenters of international live theatre productions. Other notable transactions include the sale of a majority stake in the leading Hollywood market research and data analytics firm, Screen Engine/ASI, to the Wicks Group. Immediately thereafter, Palmer and Qualia were hired as the company’s buy-side advisor and served as its exclusive financial advisor in the acquisition of several complementary companies including, most recently, Coherency (Dec. 2022). Palmer also ran the sale process for the intellectual property rights of the classic game show, Let’s Make A Deal. He has provided strategic advice to his clients in the growth and operation of their businesses and has helped them expand their businesses through the acquisition and disposition of intellectual property assets, such as music publishing catalogs and film libraries.
Prior to founding Qualia Legacy Advisors, Palmer led the entertainment industry investments at Fortress’ Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund, a $6.5 billion credit hedge fund.
At Paramount Pictures, Palmer was head of Corporate Development, mainly responsible for structured film finance. In that role, he put together the first modern structured financing vehicle for film slates, Melrose Investors, LLC. Over $13.5 billion in structured film financings patterned after that deal followed in its wake. In total, Palmer was directly responsible for structured film finance transactions at Paramount that captured over $1.6 billion in production costs.
Before Paramount, Palmer was a senior executive at Ogden Entertainment, where he spearheaded new initiatives in location-based entertainment and film. He has served on the boards of Digital Cinema Initiatives, United Cinemas International, Famous Players, Mann Theatres and ART3+4. Palmer began his career as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
MBA, Wharton; JD, Cardozo; AB, Columbia. Series 7, 63 and 79 FINRA licenses. Admitted to practice law in New York State (inactive). Palmer is a registered representative of Finalis Securities, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.