Dean has had a stellar year following his landmark €1bn transaction between Forterro and Partners Group in 2022, which is still the largest European deal led by a CEO of African Caribbean heritage. Forterro is now the UK’s sixth largest privately held software company.

As CEO, Dean has continued to scale Forterro by increasing profits by 30 per cent through top and bottom-line growth, in addition to accelerating growth through active mergers and acquisitions.

Whilst running Forterro, Dean has also increased his work as the sole African Caribbean partner at Corten Capital – the €1.2bn+ private equity fund – where he is responsible for growth and value creation.

Also in 2023, Dean joined the board of Cornerstone as a senior advisor. Cornerstone is the UK’s largest venture capital firm focused on investing in and supporting black-owned growth businesses. 

Just in the last 12 months, his foundation, Forbes Family Group (FFG) has successfully collaborated with JMI Partners to create and fund the Ten Em Bee after-school education programme in South London. The programme’s achievements include supporting low-income parents with after-school care and meals, partnering with black youth anti-knife crime charity Power the Fight, and comfortably raising well over six figures of funding in one night at the House of Lords. 

FFG also funded and hosted its most recent inspiring Radar Networking event at the Curzon Theatre in Soho, London, supported by newsreader Charlene White. Radar events, created by Dean, select young, aspiring, and talented black professionals and entrepreneurs, and invite them to unique locations to network and hear from inspiring role models. 

The 2023 Radar event saw over 300 young people come together to receive advice and guidance on professional career advancement, financial literacy, and business development. Dean also launched the Cap Table Talks video and podcast series where successful black men share their journeys and learnings.