Forterro CEO Dean Forbes named most influential Black man in UK
Dean Forbes tells Geraint Vincent about his journey from homelessness to CEO of a billion euro company
South-east Londoner Dean Forbes has been named the most influential Black man in Britain on the Powerlist 2023, beating Marcus Rashford, Stormzy and Idris Elba.
Published by Powerful Media, the Powerlist identifies the UK’s most powerful people of African, African Caribbean and African American heritage.
Homeless twice before he was 30, Mr Forbes is the chief of Forterro, which recently changed hands for €1 billion.
He said the list, which has been published annually since 2007, “reminds us of the responsibility we have to the generation coming behind us.
"This year the list features mostly business people in the top 10," he told ITV News.
"We’re used to seeing ourselves on the field in sports, we’re used to seeing ourselves on the TV but it’s really nice to have the list - especially the top 10 - dominated by people who do their work in the boardroom."
Mr Forbes comes third on the 100-strong list behind Dame Sharon White, who is the first ever female chair of John Lewis, and Anne Mensah, VP of content at Netflix.
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