Eric Collins (investor)

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); 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).[8]

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.[9][10]

Collins was named one of the UK’s top 100 BAME leaders in technology by the Financial Times.[11] He was voted one of the most influential Black people in Britain on Powerlist 2020.[12]

Collins’ first book We Don't Need Permission: Unlocking Black Empowerment for Good was published in April 2022.[13]