Eric Collins (investor)
Eric Collins | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Harvard Law School |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | CEO and co-founder of Impact X Capital Partners |
Eric D. Collins is an American businessman, serial entrepreneur, technology expert, and former President Obama appointee. He is the CEO and co-founder of Impact X Capital Partners. In 2021 Collins was announced as the host of Channel 4 business reality show The Money Maker, (formerly The Profit).[1][2] He has served on President Obama's Small Business Administration’s Council on Underserved Communities.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Eric Collins is originally from Alabama.[4] His late father was a university professor and then a Swiss chemical company executive, and his mother, a music educator and guidance counsellor.[5] Collins has degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School which he attended alongside Obama.[6]
Career
[edit]After graduating from Princeton University, Collins worked as a strategy consultant specializing in deal making and mergers before spinning out another consultancy firm as managing partner. Eric founded a consumer complaint tracking platform which he wound down in 2001.[7]
Eric entered the tech industry in 2002 and since then has spent most of his career working in digital companies. He held roles at Tegic, an AOL subsidiary, Nuance Communications / MSFT, COO at Mobile Posse / Digital Turbine (2010-2013);[8] and Chief Revenue and Distribution Officer at SwiftKey / MSFT (2014-2016), a predictive text firm. This role brought him to London and was then followed by a role at Touch Surgery / Medtronic as its Chief Operating Officer (2016-2018).[9]
In 2018, Collins was part of a group of influential Black European and US serial entrepreneurs, institutional investors, investment bankers, corporate leaders and entertainers which led to the founding of Impact X Capital Partners.[10][11]
Collins was named one of the UK’s top 100 BAME leaders in technology by the Financial Times.[12] He was voted one of the most influential Black people in Britain on Powerlist 2020.[13]
Collins’ first book We Don't Need Permission: Unlocking Black Empowerment for Good was published in April 2022.[14]
The Money Maker
[edit]Collins made his debut as host of The Money Maker on May 4, 2021, described by The Guardian as a "one-man Dragon's Den".[1] It was positively received by the critics.[15] The format is based on US business show The Profit on CNBC[16]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "The Money Maker review – Obama guru leads a one-man Dragons' Den". The Guardian. 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Who Eric Collins is - and what time his new series, Money Maker, starts on Channel 4 tonight". i (newspaper). 2021-05-04.
- ^ "Seasoned investor and former Barack Obama adviser Eric Collins is The Money Maker". Voice Online. 2021-05-03.
- ^ "The Money Maker: Meet Eric Collins here". HELLO!. 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
- ^ Sanghera, Sathnam. "Business guru Eric Collins on systemic racism and new TV show The Profit". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
- ^ McGrath, Nick (12 August 2023). "Eric Collins: 'Has Obama ever asked me for financial advice? No. He is very prudent'". The Times.
- ^ "Eric Collins is Channel 4's answer to Alan Sugar on business reality show The Profit". i Newspaper. 9 February 2021.
- ^ Center, Microsoft News (2022-03-04). "Microsoft completes acquisition of Nuance, ushering in new era of outcomes-based AI". Stories. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
- ^ Williams, Tommy. "Black-Owned Venture Capital Fund Impact X Capital Wants To Invest £100 Million In Underrepresented Entrepreneurs". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
- ^ "'We want to find gems': the black venture capitalists invested in change". The Guardian. 2019-11-16. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
- ^ Bounds, Andy (30 June 2020). "Black-owned businesses struggle to find investors". Financial Times.
- ^ "The UK's top 100 black and minority ethnic leaders in technology". Ft.com. 2018-11-14.
- ^ Lavender, Jane (17 November 2020). "Lewis Hamilton ends incredible year top of influential Black Powerlist 2021". The Mirror.
- ^ Chandler, Mark. "Transworld signs 'catalyst for change' by entrepreneur Eric Collins". The Bookseller.
- ^ Singh, Anita (2021-05-04). "The Money Maker, review: When Dragons' Den met The Apprentice via Obama". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235.
- ^ Kanter, Jake (2021-02-09). "CNBC Business Reality Show 'The Profit' To Be Adapted By Channel 4 In The UK". Deadline.