Chief Executive Officer, Planck Power Corporation
Managing Partner, Atlas 25
James Robert "Bo" Collins, Jr. is an energy markets executive, entrepreneur, and financial systems architect with over three decades of experience operating at the intersection of global commodities, capital markets, and infrastructure development. Mr. Collins has led some of the most consequential transitions in modern energy trading and is now focused on advancing next-generation energy systems designed to support global electrification and grid stability.
Mr. Collins currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Planck Power Corporation, an advanced energy technology company developing grid stability platforms featuring a new class of energy storage systems defined as Membrane-Controlled Ion Batteries (MCIB). This architecture enables independent control of power delivery, energy capacity, and thermal behavior, allowing MCIB-based systems to operate with rapid response, high-frequency cycling, and stable performance across wide temperature ranges without active thermal management.
Planck Power's mission is to redefine energy storage as stable, continuously operable infrastructure through MCIB-based grid stability platforms. Under Mr. Collins' leadership, the company represents the convergence of advanced energy technology and institutional-scale market experience.
Mr. Collins is also the Managing Partner of Atlas 25, an investment partnership focused on deploying capital across public and private markets, with an emphasis on commodity sectors, energy systems, and advanced technologies. The firm combines investment activity with strategic advisory capabilities, leveraging AI-driven tools and market intelligence to identify, structure, and accelerate high-impact opportunities. Atlas 25 plays an active role in the early formation of capital for companies at the forefront of their industries, supporting the development and commercialization of next-generation solutions.
Prior to this role, Mr. Collins served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mercantile Bank International, a U.S.-regulated financial institution based in Puerto Rico. During this tenure, Mr. Collins led the development of a global banking platform focused on capital access, cross-border financial services, and innovation in financial infrastructure supporting institutional clients and emerging energy platforms.
Mr. Collins' career is defined by a central role in transforming global energy markets during a period of rapid evolution. Most notably, Mr. Collins served as President of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) from 2001 to 2004, at a time when it was the largest commodities exchange in the world. Appointed at age 35, Mr. Collins led a series of foundational innovations that reshaped how energy markets function today.
During this tenure, Mr. Collins oversaw the creation of NYMEX ClearPort, the first commercially successful over-the-counter (OTC) clearing platform, enabling institutional participants to clear bilateral trades with exchange-level security, credit enhancement, and transparency. Mr. Collins also drove the transition from open outcry to electronic trading, a structural shift that modernized global commodities markets and dramatically increased liquidity and accessibility. In addition, Mr. Collins played a central role in the development of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, extending NYMEX's influence into international energy pricing benchmarks.
Prior to NYMEX, Mr. Collins built and managed one of the largest natural gas derivatives trading operations in the world while serving as Head Trader at El Paso Corporation. Over a four-year period, Mr. Collins' trading activities contributed more than $2 billion in net revenue, reflecting deep expertise in risk management, market structure, and large-scale capital deployment.
Following NYMEX, Mr. Collins founded and led several investment and advisory platforms focused on energy markets and financial innovation. As Managing Partner of MotherRock LP, Mr. Collins launched and operated a $500 million hedge fund specializing in energy derivatives. Mr. Collins later founded Quantum Advisory, providing strategic consulting across trading, exchange development, and financial infrastructure.
Mr. Collins subsequently co-founded Lone Star Capital, a private investment firm focused on building and scaling companies at the intersection of energy, logistics, and financial markets. Through Lone Star and its affiliated entities—including Matrix Global—Mr. Collins helped pioneer new financial instruments tied to physical infrastructure, including the world's first exchange-supported contracts for crude oil storage capacity developed in collaboration with CME and LOOP, the largest privately held crude storage facility in the United States.
Across these ventures, Mr. Collins has consistently focused on identifying structural inefficiencies in markets and designing platforms that align physical assets, financial products, and institutional capital.
In addition to private sector leadership, Mr. Collins has demonstrated a deep understanding of the policy and regulatory landscape that governs energy and financial markets, positioning Mr. Collins as a unique operator capable of navigating both market-driven and policy-driven environments.
Earlier in Mr. Collins' career, Mr. Collins began as an options market maker on the floor of NYMEX, trading crude oil, natural gas, and cotton contracts. Mr. Collins also served as an analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, where Mr. Collins contributed to early technology modernization initiatives, including the transition of U.S. savings bonds to electronic systems and the deployment of network infrastructure across the Federal Reserve system.
