Most people would be pretty hyped about closing a huge deal, but for CEO Dean Forbes, this moment in his career was particularly emotional. For one thing, the transaction was worth $1 billlion! However, that wasn’t the only significant thing about this moment for Forbes. He’d fought his way out of poverty and even homelessness in order to get to where he is today. A beautiful video on TikTok shows the businessman’s reaction to his overwhelming success.
Dean Forbes started out with a big dream: becoming a footballer (aka, soccer player). However, this didn’t pan out for him. Although The Mirror tells us that he made it into the prestigious Academy at Crystal Palace Football Club, he wasn’t able to pursue his passion. At a young age, he found himself homeless and in debt while caring for his disabled mother. He ended up working in a Motorola call center to make ends meet. At the time, he had no idea how much that job would end up paying off.
“I describe the start of my career journey as a twice homeless failed footballer who found himself doing telesales to service a mountain of debt that he’d accumulated to keep up with football friends,” the CEO told Business Chief. “I’m really grateful for that debt because it meant I had to fail at football quickly in order to get into the professional working environment.”
Dean Forbes worked at a call center before closing his billion dollar deal.
As Dean Forbes proved his mettle at Motorola, he started rising through the ranks. He found success at software company Primavera, where The U.S. Sun tells us he helped secure a $550 million deal. Eventually, he became the CEO of KDS in Paris. By the time he became CEO of Forterro, another software business, his reputation prededed him as someone who made companies worth buying. That’s when he reached the highest point of his career so far.
After a year with Dean Forbes at the helm of Forterro, a private firm called Partners Group decided to acquire the company in a billion dollar deal! Unsurprisingly, the new owners kept the talented businessman on as their CEO. Forbes is also the founder and chairman of Forbes Family Group, which is dedicated to helping other individuals and businesses achieve success.
What an incredible journey! Through hard work, Dean Forbes was able to change the course of his life from a homelessness to a billion dollar deal. What’s even better is that he’s sharing his expertise!