Marc Collins
Marc Collins was born in Hawai’i, the son of an American father and Tahitian mother, raised in Mexico City and attended college in the United States. He returned to his mother’s home country of Tahiti, in 1991, where he became involved in the family business of black pearl farming and retailing. He ran a successful chain of Tahitian pearl jewelry boutiques and after 17 years in the business, was invited to join the government as Minister of Tourism from 2007 until 2008.
In 2010, he launched French Polynesia’s first challenger Internet Service Provider, Viti, offering the first wireless 4G network on the island of Tahiti. From March 2012 to March 2013, Marc was the Area Manager, Pacific Islands, for the Hawaiki Submarine Cable, which will soon be connecting New Zealand to Hawaii.
In May 2013, Marc and four other partners launched Tahiti’s first OTT (over the top) entertainment platform, NiuTV. In November 2015, NiuTV became the 3rd licensed Internet Service Provider in French Polynesia, under the brand “Smart Tahiti Networks”.
In 2017, Marc became an Ambassador for The Seasteading Institute, as well as a co-founder and VP of Public Affairs for Blue Frontiers.