Eric Collins (investor)

Eric Collins
Other namesEric D. Collins
Alma materHarvard Law School
Occupations
  • Businessman, serial entrepreneur
  • technology expert
Known forCEO 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 former President Barack Obama's Small Business Administration's Council on Underserved Communities.[3]

Early life and education

Eric Collins is originally from Alabama, United States.[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

After graduating from Harvard 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

Collins made his debut as host of The Money Maker on May 4, 2021, described by The Guardian newspaper as a "one-man Dragons' Den".[1] It was positively received by the critics.[15] The format is based on US business show The Profit on CNBC[16]

References

  1. ^ a b Mangan, Lucy (May 4, 2021). "The Money Maker review – Obama guru leads a one-man Dragons' Den". The Guardian.
  2. ^ Polianskaya, Alina (May 4, 2021). "Money Maker: Who Eric Collins is – and what time his new series starts on Channel 4 tonight". i paper.
  3. ^ "Seasoned investor and former Barack Obama adviser Eric Collins is The Money Maker". Voice Online. May 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "The Money Maker: Meet Eric Collins here". HELLO!. May 4, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  5. ^ Sanghera, Sathnam (March 20, 2021). "Business guru Eric Collins on systemic racism and new TV show The Profit". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  6. ^ McGrath, Nick (August 12, 2023). "Eric Collins: 'Has Obama ever asked me for financial advice? No. He is very prudent'". The Times.
  7. ^ Sherwin, Adam (February 9, 2021). "Eric Collins is Channel 4's answer to Alan Sugar on business reality show The Profit". i Newspaper.
  8. ^ Center, Microsoft News (March 4, 2022). "Microsoft completes acquisition of Nuance, ushering in new era of outcomes-based AI". Stories. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  9. ^ Williams, Tommy (March 24, 2021). "Black-Owned Venture Capital Fund Impact X Capital Wants To Invest £100 Million In Underrepresented Entrepreneurs". Forbes. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  10. ^ Makortoff, Kalyeena (November 16, 2019). "'We want to find gems': the black venture capitalists invested in change". The Guardian. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  11. ^ Bounds, Andy (June 30, 2020). "Black-owned businesses struggle to find investors". Financial Times.
  12. ^ Khalaf, Roula (November 14, 2018). "The UK's top 100 black and minority ethnic leaders in technology". Ft.com.
  13. ^ Lavender, Jane (November 17, 2020). "Lewis Hamilton ends incredible year top of influential Black Powerlist 2021". The Mirror.
  14. ^ Chandler, Mark (April 7, 2021). "Transworld signs 'catalyst for change' by entrepreneur Eric Collins". The Bookseller.
  15. ^ Singh, Anita (May 4, 2021). "The Money Maker, review: When Dragons' Den met The Apprentice via Obama". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235.
  16. ^ Kanter, Jake (February 9, 2021). "CNBC Business Reality Show 'The Profit' To Be Adapted By Channel 4 In The UK". Deadline.
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