Events

Boardwave Breakfast: The Art of Scaling - Lessons from Dedale’s Growth Journey

Join us for breakfast with Dedale's CEO, Benjamin Forlani to hear practical lessons on scaling a global tech business, aligning teams, and spotting trends in software, AI, and investment.
Feb 12, 2026 8:30 AM
Drouant, Paris

About the event

Host: Kath Easthope, CEO and Co-Founder, Boardwave

Speaker: Benjamin Forlani, Founder and CEO, Dedale

Sponsor: H.I. Executive Consulting

Join us for breakfast with Benjamin Forlani, Founder and CEO of Dedale, a fast-scaling strategic intelligence firm supporting leading investors and technology companies across Europe, North America, and Asia.

Before founding Dedale, Benjamin spent over a decade working across strategic due diligence, technology-driven transformation, and investment roles at BCG and Astorg Partners. During this time, he identified a persistent structural challenge: CEOs and investors were making critical decisions in fast-moving tech markets without access to the precise, granular, and timely intelligence they needed. Existing research was too generic; consulting was too slow and too expensive.

Today, Benjamin leads a 150-strong global team covering dozens of software segments and operating seamlessly across Europe and beyond. Dedale’s rapid growth over the past 18 months, including doubling in size, offers a powerful real-world case study in scaling a business at pace.

In this session, Benjamin will share practical lessons from Dedale’s journey: how to build momentum early, maintain alignment during hypergrowth, and scale internationally while preserving quality. He’ll also touch on the market signals Dedale sees across thousands of companies, offering CEOs a rare data-led window into what’s coming next in software, investment cycles, and AI adoption. At the breakfast, we will discuss;

Scaling Smarter - Recognise early where growth challenges will emerge and turn them into strategic advantages rather than points of friction.

Product GTM Alignment - Ensure your roadmap, positioning, and sales motions reinforce each other and understand the pitfalls that stall alignment in scaling companies.

Building for Sustainable Growth - Structure teams, culture, and operational processes to support scale, including the realities of international expansion and maintaining quality under pressure.

This breakfast is a unique opportunity to hear from a leader who has scaled a global business in a turbulent market, and to connect with fellow leaders navigating similar growth opportunities.

Presented by:

Ready to scale faster with Europe's best

Boardwave is open to European tech founders and CEOs scaling to €100M ARR and beyond.
Membership is curated.
Tell us your stage. Tell us your ambition. We'll show you what's possible.
Boardwave members shaking hands while networking at a community event.

Trusted and supported by Europe's leading investors and advisors

STRATEGIC Partners
Hg
McKinsey & Company
Alliance Partners
A&O Shearman
ASSOSoftware
Alantra
Albertine
Alpha Advisory
Amazon Web Services
Arma Partners
Bank of America
Berenberg
Canaccord Genuity Partners
Crosslake
Deloitte
Egon
Farringford Legal
GP Bullhound
Gazelle Law
H.I. Executive Consulting (H.I.E.C)
HSBC Innovation Banking
Heidrick & Struggles
IBM
Jamieson
Jefferies
La Fosse
LegalEdge
Liberty Corporate Finance
London Stock Exchange
Mindstone
OC&C
Portolano
Propel
Rothschild & Co
Rothschild & Co Wealth Management
Russell Reynolds Associates
Snowball
Solano Partners
Stifel
SuperScalers
Techspace
Teneo
Travers Smith
UBS
VenturePath
West Peak
Wilson Sonsini
Xoriant
INVESTOR Partners
A3c
Advent International
Apax Partners
Ares Management
AshGrove Capital
August Equity
Axiom Equity
BC Partners
BGF
Bain Capital
Beringea
Blackstone
Bridgepoint
CINVEN
Carlyle
Dawn Capital
FPE
FirstPartyCapital
Five Arrows
Francisco Partners
Frog Capital
GCP - Growth Capital Partners
Goldman Sachs Asset Management
H.I.G. Capital
Hellman & Friedman
Highland Europe
KKR
Livingbridge
Mercia Ventures
Oakley Capital
Osprey
Oxx
Permira
Rivean Capital
Sixth Street
Skøyen Software
Smedvig Capital
TA Associates
Thoma Bravo
Upliift
Ventech
Verdane
Warburg Pincus
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