Forbes Family Group (FFG), an NFP community and social investment organisation founded by Chairman and renowned Tech CEO Dean Forbes, presented our second Radar Event in April 2023.
Radar aims to bring aspiring professionals and entrepreneurs, particularly those from marginalised backgrounds, into the same space as those at the top of their game. Our chosen venue, London’s Soho Curzon Cinema, allowed us to host 200 professionals, a massive increase from our originally planned.
The event was opened by Forbes Family Group CEO Davina Forbes Williamson and hosted by legendary Executive Coach and FFG NonExecutive Director David McQueen. Charlie Luckhoo, Partner at St James Place Wealth Management, gave an insightful and informative talk on building and managing wealth. Timo Armoo, founder and CEO of Fanbytes, a company acquired by the global digital agency Brainlabs for an 8-figure sum, was then interviewed by Eileen Gbagbo of Bloomberg. Timo spoke of his journey and the challenges encountered along the way and provided some great advice to our delegates on navigating the entrepreneurial world.
Following a brief interval, our delegates were treated to a fireside chat where our Chairman, Dean Forbes, was interviewed by legendary broadcaster and journalist Charlene White and Businessman and Apprentice star Tim Campbell MBE. Dean shared an honest account of his career and an insight into his now notorious €1bn exit with Forterro; the moment Dean received the call confirming the deal was caught on camera, and his reaction was played in all the cinematic glory of the Curzon with a backdrop of a personalised soundtrack by Joe Joey. Everyone in the room felt a part of this special moment, and it closed to rapturous applause.
Dean then went on to present some of FFG’s upcoming initiatives, including a CapTable, a £10,000 pitch competition which invited entrepreneurs to apply to win an investment in their business ideas, and the Ascension project, an initiative to place young people with mentors and in job placements from the FFG network.
The talks and interviews were followed by an evening of networking, giving each delegate a chance to interact with one another and our guests. In addition to our onstage talent, FFG invited several high-value networkers from various industries for our delegates to seek advice and expand their networks.
They were Bouncer of Play Dirty, Rousol Altimini and Alexandre Michelson from Corten Capital, Lee Anderson – CEO and founder of Whoma, Rodney Appiah – Founder and Managing Partner at Cornerstone VC, Andy Ayim MBE – angel investor, Lin Mei – political and social commentator, Zuleika Philips. Head of Channel at Zoom, Northern Europe & UKI, Dr Tru Powell – Tru Powell Consultancy & Events Ltd, Charles Rees – Partners Group, Dwain Reid – Start-up and Small Business Coach (dwainreid. com), Charlotte Smith – Global Director of Talent & Development (We Love Salt), Samuel Panda – Founder of Huey Hutch and LEVLS, Ben Lindsay – CEO of Power the Fight, Sayce Holmes-Lewis – Founder & CEO of Mentivity and Carina White – Cultural commentator and Broadcaster. All contributed to the event’s success, created connections and provided valuable advice to our delegates.
Refreshments, gifts, and prizes were all sourced from the FFG network; Jo Knows Food put on a fantastic spread feeding our guests and delegates with her signature Caribbean flavours. Bouncer provided his Wicked N Bad energy drinks for all our attendees; prize gift bags were given to those invited to ask our Chair a question on camera, including products from Jo Knows Food, Botanical By Brina, Niche Tea and Lucocoa Chocolate.
We at FFG love our Radar events and the opportunities it offers people by popular demand. We are in the planning stages of an event later this year, so keep an eye on our socials for more information @forbesfamilygroup.
By Selina Grant
Forbes Family Group – Operations Director
