Mo Gilligan: Beginning, Middle & End Lessons in Resilience: How Dean Forbes Transformed His Challenges into Opportunities
On this episode of Beginning, Middle, End, Mo Gilligan sits down with one of the UK’s most dynamic tech leaders — Dean Forbes — a man who went from growing up on a South London estate, juggling responsibility at home and dreams of playing professional football, to leading companies through multi-billion euro exits and championing social mobility at scale.
Mo and Dean dive deep into the resilience, humour, and hustle that shaped Dean’s journey, unpacking how those early experiences fuelled his rise from telesales to the boardroom, and why he’s now using his platform to empower the next generation through the Forbes Family Group. It’s a powerful, inspiring conversation about identity, ambition, and breaking ceilings — all delivered with the honesty, vulnerability and laughs you’d expect when these two worlds collide.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Forbes
- Vodafone
- Motorola
- Oracle
- HSBC
- Morgan Stanley
- Crystal Palace
- ACLT
- Partners Group
- Andy Warhol
- Basquiat
- Jamiroquai