Derrick Collins

Derrick Collins is a General Partner of Polestar Capital Partners, L.P., a private venture capital partnership located in Chicago, Illinois. Polestar invests primarily in early-stage to growth-stage technology companies that are controlled and/or led by minority entrepreneurs.

Mr. Collins also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management where he teaches Venture Capital and Private Equity Investing. In addition to his graduate school teaching, Mr. Collins has lectured extensively on the topic of venture capital and investing in entrepreneurial companies, including presentations at the Credit Suisse International Business School, the National Minority Supplier Development Council’s Advanced Management Education Program, and the Wall Street Journal’s Black Entrepreneurship in America Conference.

Prior to joining Polestar, Mr. Collins was President of Shorebank Capital Corporation, the venture capital subsidiary of Shorebank Corporation, an Illinois bank holding company. As President of Shorebank Capital, Mr. Collins directed all operating and investment activities and has been primarily responsible for reorganizing and establishing this fund as a return-focused investment vehicle.

Prior to undertaking his Shorebank Capital responsibilities, Mr. Collins served as a Vice President in the Commercial Lending Department of South Shore Bank. During this time, he was responsible for underwriting and originating commercial loans and managed a diverse loan portfolio that contained companies in the service, retail, and manufacturing sectors. Prior to Shorebank, Mr. Collins held various engineering and management positions at the telecommunications firm, Ameritech Illinois.

Mr. Collins’ current board affiliations include Adamation, Inc., National Association of Investment Companies, The Thresholds, Unisource Network Services, Inc. and ViaNovus, Inc. Mr. Collins has also served as a judge for Arthur Andersen’s Best Practices Awards.