ForterroA man who was twice homeless as a teenager before becoming a multimillionaire businessman has made it onto a list celebrating influential black Britons.
Dean Forbes, who, after failing to become a professional footballer, started his career in a call center, is now the boss of a software company.
He worked his way up from “abject poverty” on an estate in south-east London to become chief executive of Forterro, a Swedish software company.
Forbes says the Powerlist 2025 toplist is “high-profile professionals and careers”.
He told the BBC that he grew up in a single-parent family in a flat in Lewisham, his disabled mother always encouraged her children to be positive, and gave them hope.
He said he had a “whale of time” growing up despite having no money, living in a local community that “looked after each other”.
He said his mother taught him and his two brothers to “get our hopes up”, “don’t be a victim” and not dwell on misfortune.
He was twice homeless as a teenager, but said he and his family always saw it as a temporary challenge to overcome.
He managed to get a place at the Crystal Palace Academy, but he didn’t.
He points to these failures as important moments for his success, because he is more determined.
“Thanks to disappointment and rejection, it has put me on this path beyond my wildest dreams,” he said.
He had borrowed money to “keep up appearances” with friends like the “well-paid” footballer Rio Ferdinand, but was left with a £88,000 pile of debt in the end.
To begin to remove it, he got a job at the Motorola call center, and he quickly rose.
He moved to a software company called Primavera which he helped build up, and made the first millions after it was sold to Oracle: he has taken shares of the venture.
Forbes moved on from there and became chief executive of two software companies, KDS and CoreHR, each taking an equity stake, and making millions more.
He also has an equity stake in Forterro, which is said to be a company with revenues of more than €300m (£250m) a year and a profit of €130m.
Despite his wealth, he says he doesn’t want to “lose any pounds”.
He was able to buy his mother’s house, and his children “never had any of the problems I had to deal with” regarding poverty.
He now describes celebrities like Ferdinand and actor Idris Elba as close friends.
But he told the BBC that his origins are still very important to him and that he wants to inspire and give opportunities to others who have not had the advantages in life.
‘open the door’
Forbes and his wife Danielle founded the Forbes Family Group, a philanthropic organization for people in underserved communities.
They work to try to break the cycle of poverty and deprivation, and provide people with positive role models.
“My experience has made me sick to know that there is so much talent in the community — you just have to open the door” to give people a chance, he said.
Forbes said that when he was growing up the only black people he could see who were successful were in entertainment, sports, or “doing bad things” in criminal gangs.
He says he wants to succeed in business more “relatable” in part through mentoring and networking projects.
He has now been named number one in the 2025 Powerlist, after being number two last year.
The first annual Powerlist was published in 2007, with the goal of providing role models for young black men, according to Powerful Media.
Forbes took the place of British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful at the head of the list.
The top 10 Powerlist for 2025 are:
1. Dean Forbes, chief executive at software company Forterro
2. Bernard Mensah, international president at Bank of America
3. Afua Kyei, chief financial officer at the Bank of England
4. Emma Grede, chief executive at fashion brand Good American
5. Joshua Siaw, partner in the law firm White & Case
6. Tunde Olanrewaju, senior partner at McKinsey consultancy
7. Alexander and Oliver Kent-Braham, founders of insurance company Marshmallow
8. Adejoke Bakare, chef-owner at Michelin-starred restaurant Chishuru
9. Justin Onuekwusi, fund manager at St. James’s Place
10. Pamela Maynard, chief AI transformation officer at Microsoft
