Leaders' Lives

Dean Forbes: Redefining the Road to the Top

By Amy Wilson-Wyles, Director of Editorial, Marketing and Communications

Dean Forbes’ story begins in South London - shaped by eviction notices, late-night shifts, and a mother who treated education as a survival strategy. Today, he stands among Europe's most influential business leaders: CEO of Forterro, a company he's transforming from a billion pound acquisition to enterprise, founder of the Forbes Family Group, Partner at Private Equity firm Corten Capital and recently named the most influential Black Briton on The Powerlist 2025.

The numbers tell one side of the story: 20% year-on-year revenue growth, €300m+ projected revenues for 2025, EBITDA margins of 30%, and a strategic vision that merged 12 companies into a unified European tech powerhouse. Behind the scenes, every chapter of his career has been forged through discipline. From the football pitch, where he learned the value of structure, teamwork, and grit, to the boardroom, where he now leads multinational tech businesses through scale and transformation. At the centre of it all is a simple, powerful belief: when making your way to the top, you should open doors for others.

“Success leaves clues,” he says. “Learn from people who’ve already walked the road.” 

It’s a philosophy that runs deep here at Boardwave, where Forbes is part of our growing movement of leaders who meet to share real stories, build collective knowledge, and accelerate the next generation of leaders. Whether mentoring future CEOs or investing in overlooked talent, he has made it his mission to help lift others, and to expand the definition of what leadership looks like along the way.

Here, he talks to us about resilience, representation, and the importance of showing up, even when the odds are stacked against you.

The Early Instinct to Lead

Forbes grew up in South London with little financial security, which at one point saw the family facing homelessness. But he had a mother whose belief in education bordered on defiance.

“She was absolutely determined that we’d receive a good education, which might have seemed counterintuitive given how precarious things were,” he says. “But that mindset, that belief in pushing forward no matter what, has stayed with me throughout my career.” 

“We lived day by day, treating life as a bit of an adventure and I think that’s made me someone who just keeps putting one foot in front of the other, no matter the challenge.”

From an early age, he showed a quiet instinct for leadership, not for the title, but for the impact.

“I was always looking for ways to support my family, to solve problems, to make a difference,” he says. “Being a carer for my mum and having to look after my brothers while she worked from a young age made me realise early on that I could help people grow. That ability to lead through transformation has been a defining thread in my life.”

The Discipline of the Pitch

As a teenager, Forbes had one goal: football. He was captain for most of the teams that he played for, so while he didn’t make it professionally, the lessons he learnt on the pitch, and his natural leadership ability in a team environment, shaped everything that followed.

“Football taught me commitment, preparation, and leadership,” he says. “On top of that what it gave me was structure: the idea that if you want to succeed, you need a clear and realistic path to get there.”

When that dream collapsed, he was in debt fast. He got a telesales job by day and delivered pizzas by night.

“I was working until midnight, four nights a week. It was tough, but it taught me the value of discipline and responsibility,” he says. “A lot of people drift out of football slowly. I had to face reality fast.”

Those years were humbling. But also catalytic.

“What made it even harder was being surrounded by friends who were still in football,some doing incredibly well, while I was starting from scratch in a job I didn’t enjoy. But that frustration gave me something to prove. I stepped out of the football friendship circle because the peer pressure was immense and decided to double down on my career - I didn’t want my story to be one of failure, so I made it my mission to become the best at what I was doing – even if it wasn’t what I’d originally set out to do. The drive to come back to that group as a success having been viewed as a failure made me only move on once I’d reached the top of each role.”

Ownership, Equity, and a Breakthrough Mindset

In the five years since starting in telesales, Forbes made his way up the career ladder, resulting in a move to Primavera Systems in 2000 to become their Vice-President, responsible for international growth. 

“There was a period that changed everything,” he says. “And it was when I began to properly understand ownership structures and the value of taking equity in the companies I worked for. I made a real effort to educate myself about equity: how it works, why it matters - and by the time I joined Primavera Systems I was in a position to negotiate not just the salary, but some equity too.

It paid off - the company was acquired by Oracle in 2009 and Forbes saw firsthand how equity can create life-changing value.

“Ownership gives you a different level of commitment and motivation far beyond what salary alone can offer.”

The then-CEO of Primavera became an important mentor, backing Forbes early in his career. But it was Charles Phillips, Oracle’s Co-President at the time, who gave him a vision of what was possible.

“As a prominent Black businessman, Charles’ presence had a huge impact on me. Representation really does matter,” he says. “I studied everything he did. He gave me belief and a blueprint.”

Building a Track Record of Transformational Success

The equity lesson from Primavera proved transformational. Over the next decade, Forbes would apply this knowledge to build an impressive track record of scaling tech businesses through successful exits.

In 2011, he was promoted from Vice-President to CEO of KDS, a Paris-headquartered travel and expense management software company. Under his leadership, KDS expanded internationally and developed innovative solutions like their Neo platform for door-to-door corporate travel booking. His strategic vision culminated in the company's acquisition by American Express Global Business Travel in 2016 - reportedly their largest tech deal at the time.

“The exit was leading as a Brit in a French dominated environment. It was tough and uniting people around a core vision and enemy was transformational.”

After supporting the integration process, Forbes moved to his next challenge: CoreHR, a human capital management software provider. Taking the helm in 2017, he led the company through rapid European expansion and transformation from a legacy on-premise business into a modern cloud HCM suite. Within three years, he had positioned CoreHR for acquisition by The Access Group in a deal worth €200-250 million, becoming President of their newly formed Access People Division.

 

Building a Multi Billion Pound Vision

When Battery Ventures selected Forbes as CEO of Forterro in March 2021, they were betting on his proven ability to scale tech businesses and the results have been extraordinary.

Within 18 months, Forbes had positioned Forterro for acquisition by Partners Group at approximately €1 billion. And that was just the beginning. Under his leadership, the company has delivered consistent growth: 20% year-on-year revenue increases, 30% EBITDA margins, and a cloud transformation that now represents 62% of total revenues.

That strategy, dubbed "Forterro 3.0," involves merging all 12 group companies into a cohesive European tech leader serving 25,000+ industrial mid-market customers. The projected numbers are impressive: revenue above €300m and EBITDA over €100m for 2025 - more than doubling the scale since the Partners Group acquisition.

Geographic diversification has been crucial to this success. When German demand slowed, growth in France and the UK helped sustain momentum across the business.

“Focusing on most major and emerging markets in Europe has helped build resilience as macroeconomic volatility continues.”

His approach to M&A demonstrates the strategic thinking that's driven his success. Rather than purely organic growth, Forbes emphasizes targeted acquisitions to accelerate capabilities - like the integration of AI specialist Predazzo into their cloud platform. “Ultimately, we want to buy good businesses, with good tech AND good cultures!”

Leadership in Action

Forbes' commercial success stems from his approach to leadership and talent development. When stepping into a new company, Forbes starts with aspiration and then translates that into something meaningful for the people delivering the work.

“My first instinct is to understand the big picture,” he says. “Then I break it down into something tangible for the teams on the ground. People need to understand how their work contributes to something bigger.”

That sense of connection is crucial, as is hiring well. Forbes famously admits to spending around 20 hours with senior hire candidates before making a decision.

“I look for solid foundational experience, but beyond that, it’s all mindset,” he explains. “Emotional intelligence, drive, ambition, the ability to grow, those are the differentiators.”

This investment in people has created tangible results at Forterro. The company added 500+ new customers in 2024 alone, while maintaining the team cohesion necessary to execute complex integrations across 12 formerly separate businesses.

Creating Impact Beyond The Boardroom

Forbes now uses his success to invest in others, through the Forbes Family Group, which supports underserved entrepreneurs and social impact ventures.

“The choice to help people comes from a desire to make a wider difference,” he says. “It’s about more than just business. It’s about how we improve lives. During my career, I have been tremendously helped, and I want to use FFG as a vehicle to be helpful to others in the same way that people have been helpful to me.”

His goal is to create access and ambition, particularly for those who can’t see themselves in leadership today.

“There are too many talented people who don’t realise how transferable their skills are,” he says. “We need to help them see themselves differently.”

This mission extends to his leadership style. Several executives who've worked under Forbes have moved into CEO positions themselves, reflecting his commitment to developing talent and creating succession pathways that extend opportunities to underrepresented leaders.

The Forbes Philosophy

When asked to distil his leadership style, Forbes doesn’t hesitate.

“Showing up consistently is hard. Rebuilding your reputation is harder. Strive to achieve above your potential.”

The transformation of Forterro - from fragmented businesses to a unified €4 billion vision - exemplifies this philosophy. It's about seeing potential others might miss, building the capabilities to realise it, and creating value that extends far beyond financial returns.

And when people reflect on working with him?

“I hope they say I made them feel valued - and taught them never to settle for less.”

For Forbes, this is just the beginning. With Forterro targeting a multi-billion valuation and Forbes Family Group expanding its reach, he's building a legacy that measures success both in revenue growth, and the number of doors opened for the next generation of leaders.

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Quick Fire Questions:

What’s the most important skill for a leader today?

Success leaves clues. Learn from people who’ve already walked the road. And communication. An average plan well communicated has a better chance of a brilliant plan communicated poorly

What’s a book or resource that changed your perspective?

The Myers-Briggs personality profiles gave me a useful framework for understanding people, which has really helped me engage with and manage them more effectively. Everyone’s different, so it’s about recognising and understanding those differences.

What do you do to recharge after a challenging day?

After a long day there’s nothing like a good meal to help relax and recharge. If I have time, I like to cook for myself. Nobody consumes more calories daily/weekly than me!

What piece of software could you not live without?

My iPhone.

If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, what would it be?

Consistently show up.

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