Dean Forbes is CEO of Forterro, which owns 11 ERP software product businesses and employs 1,200 people. Forterro is a partner to more than 10,000 mid-market manufacturing companies across the UK, Europe and worldwide.
Dean is also the co-founder and Chairman of the Forbes Family Group, an organisation which provides investment and development support to businesses, entrepreneurs and social programmes designed to ‘do good and do more.’ Dean boasts an extensive career in executive and senior leadership roles with software companies.
Prior to Forterro, he was CEO of CoreHR. He led its transformative growth, expansion and sale to The Access Group. He also led the growth and sale of several other businesses: one was sold to software giant Oracle, and another to American Express. Dean has been named one of Britain’s ‘Top 50 Business Leaders’ according to Lloyds Bank and The Daily Telegraph. He’s also currently, and for the second year running, one of the 100 most influential Black people in the UK on the Powerlist, in partnership with J.P. Morgan.
In this in-depth conversation, Dean reflects on how his motivation to succeed was formed through challenges growing up – learning about the importance of hard work and staying positive; discusses his role at Forterro Group – setting strategies and working with people, as he believes they are the “primary value in most businesses;” and shares his future plans, expanding Forterro and continuing to positively impact people’s lives with Forbes Family Group.
