Richard Kevin Olsen has been active in Arizona real estate since 1975. A New York City native, he began his business career as a stockbroker before joining BBDO Advertising where managed national consumer advertising for Woolite, Easy-Off, Black Flag, and Dannon Yogurt. In 1973 Olsen relocated to Arizona, settling first in Sedona. He moved with his family to Phoenix in 1988.

Olsen graduated from Yale in 1961 with a BA degree in economics and pursued his postgraduate studies in management sciences at New York University's Bernard Baruch School of Business. He teaches license renewal classes to other brokers and has spoken on real estate matters before the Arizona Association of Realtors, the Arizona Trustees Association, the Arizona Bar, the REO Manager's Association of California, and the National District Attorneys' Association.

An active volunteer member of the Arizona Association of Realtors, Mr. Olsen has served as their PAC Chairman, Legislative Chairman and Executive Committee Member. He served as President of the Sedona-Verde Valley Board of REALTORS in 1982. That same year he was honored as the Realtor of the Year. While a resident of Sedona Olsen specialized in the listing and sale of luxury retirement homes and building sites.

In 1988 Olsen relocated his business to Phoenix from Sedona. Shortly thereafter Governor Mofford appointed him to Arizona's 14-member RTC Advisory Board. Though not an attorney, he is acknowledged to be an expert on trust deeds and has been certified by the Real Estate Department to teach the subject. As the Legislative Chairman for the Arizona Association of Realtors he drafted and introduced a revision of Arizona's antiquated trust deed statutes which the legislature was passed and enacted into law without a dissenting vote.

Olsen is the president and owner-broker of Blue Chip Asset Management, Inc. a company that specializes in real estate "crisis management", in addition to conventional real estate transactions, both residential and commercial. Because of his wide-ranging real estate experience, Arizona's legal and financial practitioners often call upon him to serve as a real estate consultant, court-appointed receiver, and expert witness in cases involving fraud and negligence issues.

In the 1980's, when law enforcement agencies were actively seizing real estate and personal property owned by drug dealers, Mr. Olsen was chosen as receiver by 33 state and local agencies to manage and sell these assets. In 1993 the United States Department of Justice awarded his company a contract to provide the U.S. Marshal's Service with similar real estate management and sales services for properties seized in Arizona.

Mr. Olsen lives in north-Central Phoenix with his wife Sharon and two "spoiled-rotten" cats. His home is a 3,200 square foot custom spec he designed and built in 1998. By the time he finished he was too much in love with it to sell. A feature he especially likes in the home is a dedicated office from which he can administer his wide-flung interests.

Mr. Olsen is a licensed pilot, residential developer and an accomplished Chinese chef. His idea of relaxation is a weekend float on a Lake Powell houseboat, or a weekend "jaunt" to anywhere in Europe, whenever the roundtrip fare dips below $300, usually in winter. Mr. Olsen is currently developing The Lofts at Colter, a 5.5 acre central Phoenix residential site that, when completed, will contain the largest number of central city infill townhomes built in decades. (www.loftsatcolter.com.)

Mr. Olsen is available by e-mail at rko@cox.net or phone at 602-216-6600.