OLBIOS INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD

Michael Collins is currently Executive Director – Americas of the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), the world’s leading think tank dedicated to developing metrics to analyse peace and to quantify its economic value. IEP has pioneered the empirical study of peace, most notably through the Annual Global Peace Index, and its research is used extensively by governments, academic institutions, NGOs and multilateral agencies such as the OECD, The Commonwealth Secretariat, the World Bank and the United Nations. By impacting traditional thinking on matters of security, defense, terrorism and development IEP aims to create a paradigm shift in the way the world thinks about peace and was recently ranked in the top 15 most impactful think tanks in the world on the Global Go To Think Tank Index.

In his role, Michael cultivates and develops new institutional and grass-roots partnerships and has been responsible for significantly expanding IEP’s presence and impact in the Americas over the past three years.

Before joining IEP Michael oversaw educational, job creation and economic development programs in emerging nations affected by or prone to disaster, where, as a practitioner, he frequently worked with communities affected by poverty and gang violence. As an expert trainer he has partnered with governments to develop disaster-risk reduction curricula, opened training centers and supervised training courses for vulnerable youth and adults with low literacy levels. Michael grew up in Spain where he studied electro-mechanical engineering and began his professional career by opening a construction company. He speaks English, Spanish and French and lives in New York with his wife and two young children.