Dean Forbes has topped the Powerlist 2025, a list celebrating influential black Britons, due to his remarkable success story. After failing to succeed as a footballer in his youth, Forbes, who had been homeless twice, began his career in a call centre, but has since become the CEO of several software companies. Although he grew up in a single-parent family on a housing estate in Lewisham, his mother always encouraged her children to be positive and gave them hope despite facing financial challenges.
Mentored by his mother, Forbes was taught to “raise our expectations,” “never to be victims,” and not dwell on misfortunes. His family pulled together during tough times, and twice when he became homeless as a teenager it was viewed as an obstacle to be overcome. Forbes credits his failure to get a place at Crystal Palace Academy as a turning point in his eventual success, possessing a strong drive to prove others wrong.
Forbes went on to say that he had been borrowing money to “keep up appearances” with footballing friends such as Rio Ferdinand and was eventually left in significant debt. Working in a Motorola call centre, he quickly worked his way up to Primavera, a software firm he helped build. After it was sold to Oracle, through equity, he earned his first million. Forbes has also taken equity stakes in Forterro, CoreHR, and KDS, earning millions more.
Forbes is now CEO of Forterro, a Swedish software firm with over €300m (£250m) in annual revenue and €130m in earnings. Despite his success, he remains grounded, saying he never wanted “to lose the value of a pound.” He was able to buy his mother a home, ensuring his children never had to experience poverty. Forbes now counts celebrities such as Ferdinand and Idris Elba among his friends, yet he remains dedicated to inspiring and assisting people who are struggling.
Forbes and his wife Danielle set up the Forbes Family Group, a philanthropic organisation that focuses on providing opportunities for people in underserved communities and breaking the cycle of poverty and disadvantage. He believes that success in business should be more “relatable” and is therefore supporting mentoring and networking projects. The Powerlist was initially published in 2007 to deliver role models for younger black people. Forbes now tops the list after being placed second in the previous year, taking over from British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful
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