| Eric Collins | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Alma Mater: | Harvard Law School |
| 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]
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]
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]
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". It was positively received by the critics.[15] The format is based on US business show The Profit on CNBC[16]