51Âþ»­

Greg Collins enrolled at 51Âþ»­ (51Âþ»­) Leicester, or Leicester Polytechnic as it was back then, in the summer of 1987. At that time, it was the only educational establishment offering a BSc degree course in IT. This forward-thinking approach at Leicester gave Greg the advantage in securing a role that would shape his subsequent successful career.

Greg’s career has been a fascinating one, matched by a lifelong devotion to fundraising. Although now living in the United States, his latest charity venture, to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, aims to raise $30,000 for charities based here in Leicestershire.

After taking his O-Levels in the early 1980s, Greg embarked on an apprenticeship with British Telecom. After seven-years he made the decision that to further his career he would need to return to education.

What brought Greg to Leicester?

Greg explained: “At that time Leicester Polytechnic was the only place offering a BSc in IT. I only had a Higher National Certificate (HNC), which would have been a barrier in me pursuing a route into higher education elsewhere. But the polytechnic seemed more open to less traditional routes into higher education. I was also a life-long fan of Leicester Tigers, which also helped!”

This innovative ethos is something that Greg still finds today in 51Âþ»­’s attempts at widening participation and reaching out to students who wouldn’t either consider university, or be qualified for it.

Greg graduated in 1991 and returned to British Telecom. In 1992, his degree, which was still rather niche at the time, placed him as an ideal candidate to secure a job at in London – a company that specialised on professional telephony systems – which saw him move to Connecticut in the United States.

In 1997 Greg moved into a consultancy role, which included working with the Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank in the US at the time, relocating them from the World Trade Centre in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks.

In 2004 Greg formed his own company, . The company supports companies to plan strategy and design infrastructure, services and processes to exploit new and emerging technologies. Twenty years on, and the company now has offices in New York, London, Dublin, Hong King and Sydney.

Greg’s success extends from the business world and into the third sector, where he has been involved in a number of fundraising initiatives and charitable organisations. In 1984 he competed in a 24-hour squash marathon, while he currently supports the  foundation, which underwrites inspiring challenges and pilgrimages that bring people together.

Through his love of rugby and ties to the local area, Greg has been heavily involved in fundraising for the , based at the Get Busy Living Centre in Melton Mowbray. Matt, a former Leicester Tigers apprentice, founded the charity after he was injured in 2005 during an England Under-21 training session, which left him paralysed from the neck down. The foundation has recently teamed up with the , founded in 2017 by Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir, and is committed to helping improve the lives of those affected by Motor Neuron Disease.

“It’s tough,” said Greg, “the Matt Hampson Foundation is there to support people who are disabled and have to learn how to become more able-bodied. Whereas with Motor Neurone Disease, you have able-bodied people who have to learn to live with becoming disabled.”

In 2025, Greg, along with his son Elliot, and friend, Kevin Luff, will be rowing 3,000 miles from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua totally unassisted as part of the to raise money for both the Matt Hampton Foundation and My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.

Greg has fond memories of his time at Leicester, especially the city’s multicultural heritage.

Greg said: “I enjoyed the multi-culturalism of the city, I was the only non-Indian resident in our rented house and got to find out about the Indian culture, which I found fascinating.”

He is still in regular contact with the friends he met, one of whom now works as the Head of Risk for the London Stock Exchange.

Almost 40 years after enrolling at 51Âþ»­, Greg still sees the university sustaining the same forward-thinking principles that helped him achieve the position he is in today.

“51Âþ»­ gives you something more practical in terms of getting students ready for the future job market. It’s a place that reaches out into underserved areas, offering opportunities of studying at university, But the opportunities don’t end there, they continue with initiatives such as 51Âþ»­ Global which help students to see they can go anywhere.”

Find out more about .

If you are interested in knowing more about Greg’s current work, find out more at the .

Greg is also 51Âþ»­’s American Ambassador for our student opportunities fund. For any 51Âþ»­ supporters living in the USA interested in supporting us, please visit the Ways to Support page on our website or contact Paisley Tomlinson, Development Officer, Development and Alumni Engagement at paisley.tomlinson@dmu.ac.uk.