The Operator
Execution, delivery and performance, gets the hard thing done.
Dean Forbes is a British business executive and serial software CEO. Since February 2021 he has served as CEO of Forterro, a European mid-market manufacturing ERP software group headquartered in London; under his leadership Forterro was acquired by Partners Group in February 2022 at a reported €1 billion valuation, crossing the tech-unicorn threshold.
“Ready to go to VC, they're not polished enough to pitch and win, but we understand them a little bit better because we're from that background. And we do a lot of mentoring and networking for professionals who are further on in their career.”
“Had I not had that, I probably would have tried to find my next call in for a period of time, but I just didn't have the luxury of that. I also had an agent at the time who really kind of forced that message home, right?”
“I'm very grateful to the debt that I had at that moment in time, which was 89,000 pounds of debt as a 17, 18-year-old through just absolute reckless endeavor. There was no good reason for having that debt. It was exactly as you described, keeping up with friends and colleagues. But I'm very grateful for the debt.”
“Finding rewarding because I'm translating what is needed and what people mean on both sides of the fence. And I think that is a place I hope to be helpful in those kinds of discussions.”
The Fifty 2026 — enterprise seat
THE RECORD IS CHECKABLE