Meet Dean Forbes, Crystal Palace reject who became homeless at 17 before becoming CEO of tech company valued at $1 billion

Dean Forbes was rejected by Crystal Palace early on. However, he's now the CEO of a tech company called Forterra, which was recently bought out for $1 billion.

Forbes played as a centre-back but was rejected by Crystal Palace during his teens. He then became homeless at the age of 14. His disabled mother lost her job and the family home when Forbes was 17.

He joined Motorola as an entry-level telesales person to deal with his debt. Reflecting on the time when his mother lost her job, Forbes said (via The Sun):

“Both times were very difficult for our family. We went into hostel accommodation and the second time, we came out of it by breaking up the family. I was of age, so I left home and had to go and make my own way. That was around the Motorola time, so I left home which meant my mother needed a smaller place which we were able to find more easily. Four years later, I was actually able to buy her a home."

Forbes also reflected on his failure to join Crystal Palace:

"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. 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.”

Forbes stayed at Motorola for a while before moving into senior positions at Isis telecommunications and Primavera.

Primavera is a software development company Oracle bought for $550 million, with Forbes being a key part of the sale. He then became the CEO of KDS, which was bought by American Express.

Forbes joined Forterra in 2021 and led them to raise $1 billion in their sale to Partners Group. He was retained as the company's CEO and now has a reported net worth of around $40 million.

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Dean Forbes reflects on his failure at Crystal Palace and dedication towards football

Forbes said that he used to play football for fun with friends but wasn't really dedicated to it. He said:

"I look back now and realise I can't say I dedicated my life to it because my friends who went on to have great careers, there's a complete contrast in the way we approached football."

He added:

"I enjoyed it. I loved it so much, and the part that wasn't helpful to me is that it was just a group of my friends from similar estates, so I just laughed six days a week and messed around, played football when it was time to play football, but I wasn't dedicated to it."

Rejection from Crystal Palace might have forced Forbes on a career path he wouldn't have achieved had he played football professionally.