TX-FORTERRO
17.2.2021 10:02:16 CET | Business Wire | Press release
Forterro , a group of companies that deliver enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to small- and medium-sized businesses, today announced the appointment of two new executives to lead the company into a new phase of growth in its core market, Europe.
Dean Forbes, a longtime, U.K.-based software executive who was most recently the president of The Access Group, was named Forterro’s chief executive. Paul Smolinski, the former chief financial officer of HR and payroll software firm CoreHR, was named CFO. The two U.K.-based leaders have been tapped to continue Forterro’s growth strategy in Europe, working with the company’s strategic leadership teams across the group’s primary business units in France, Germany, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Forbes joins Forterro after an extensive career in executive and senior leadership roles for a number of international software companies. Most recently he led the growth and expansion of CoreHR, a UK HCM software provider, across Europe. CoreHR was acquired by The Access Group, where Forbes subsequently served as president and executive board member. Prior to CoreHR, Forbes was CEO of Paris-headquartered SaaS software company KDS, where he led the successful growth and international expansion of the firm, leading to its acquisition by American Express. Earlier in his career, Forbes held senior leadership roles at Philadelphia HQ’d Primavera Systems and, subsequently, Oracle where he was global vice president for sales and marketing for the PPM Division. Forbes brings this wealth of experience to Forterro and its acquired companies, which include abas Software (Germany); BPSC (Poland); Clip Industrie, Silog and Sylob (France); Jeeves and Infocube (Sweden); and ProConcept (Switzerland). Forterro is backed by global, technology-focused investment firm Battery Ventures.
“I am thrilled to become part of such a strong group of ERP companies, who are all successfully operating in one of the strongest, most steadily growing markets in enterprise software,” Forbes said. “The cornerstone of our ongoing success will be to continue investing in the market leadership positions of local and niche ERP software businesses throughout Europe. I am excited about leading the next stage of the Forterro journey as we look to continue to grow the business aggressively, both organically and through further acquisitions.”
“Bringing in new, Europe-based leadership is part of the natural evolution of Forterro,” said Dave Tabors, a Forterro board member and Battery Ventures private equity partner. “Former CEO Jeff Tognoni, former COO Scott Malia, and the rest of the U.S.-based Forterro leadership team have done an outstanding job of growing the business by evaluating, acquiring, and operating ERP companies. To push Forterro into its next stage of development, however, it is time to cultivate leadership talent in closer proximity to our business unit operations. We are very excited to work with Dean as he prepares Forterro for its next stage of growth.”
“We have spent the last several years working closely with our counterparts in Europe to build sustainable growth strategies and unique operating approaches for each business unit and product market,” added Jeff Tognoni, who is stepping down after leading Forterro and growing revenue more than seven-fold since the initial acquisition of Jeeves Information Systems in 2012. “The strength of our local teams and their businesses lets me know that part of our job is done, and that Forterro is ready for new challenges and continued success under the leadership of Dean and Paul.”
ABOUT FORTERRO
Forterro is a group of companies that deliver ERP software to SMEs in specialized geographical or vertical markets. Backed by the investment of Battery Ventures , Forterro operates business units in Sweden, Switzerland, France, Poland, and Germany, as well as regional office locations and research and development centers around the world. Through its ever-growing ecosystem of IP and capital, Forterro collaborates with local management teams to strengthen the solution offerings and operational performance of its portfolio companies. For more information, visit www.forterro.com .
ABOUT BATTERY VENTURES
Battery partners with exceptional founders and management teams developing category-defining businesses in markets including software and services, enterprise infrastructure, online marketplaces, healthcare IT and industrial technology. Founded in 1983, the firm backs companies at all stages, ranging from seed and early to growth and buyout, and invests globally from six strategic locations: Boston; San Francisco and Menlo Park, Calif.; Herzliya, Israel; London; and New York. Follow the firm on Twitter @BatteryVentures, visit our website at www.battery.com and find a full list of Battery's portfolio companies here.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210217005237/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
L&T Technology Services Global EI Hackathon Sparks the Next Wave of AI-Native Engineering Solutions11.7.2026 13:35:00 CEST | Press release
Nearly 4,000 participants across 770+ teams from nine global locations became a part of the 24-hour innovation challenge L&T Technology Services (BSE: 540115, NSE: LTTS), a global leader in Engineering Intelligence Solutions & ER&D Consulting Services successfully concluded Engineering Intelligence (EI) OpenHack 2026, a first-of-its-kind global innovation challenge conducted simultaneously across nine locations spanning India, the U.S. and Europe. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260711573331/en/ LTTS Global EI OpenHack at the Munich office The hackathon brought together nearly 4,000 engineers (770+ teams) from Bengaluru, Mysuru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Vadodara, Mumbai, Dallas and Munich to tackle complex engineering challenges through AI-led innovation. More than 500 challenge statements were aligned with company’s strategic growth priorities, spanning Software Defined Mobility, Plant Buildout & Modernizati
Samos Energy Acquisition Corporation Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering10.7.2026 15:32:00 CEST | Press release
Samos Energy Acquisition Corporation (the “Company”) announced today the pricing of its initial public offering (“IPO”) of 20,000,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and trade under the ticker symbol “SAMO.U” beginning on July 10, 2026. Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are expected to be listed on the NYSE under the symbols “SAMO” and “SAMO.WS,” respectively. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. is acting as the sole book running manager for the proposed offering. The Company has granted the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units at the IPO price. The public offering is being made
Onera hPSG® Wins Prestigious Red Dot Product Design Award10.7.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Onera Health's patch-based home polysomnography solution, Onera hPSG®, was awarded the renowned ‘Red Dot Award: Product Design 2026’ in recognition of the sensors’ innovative design, advanced functionality, and user-centric engineering. Onera Health, a leader in transforming sleep medicine, announces that its innovative product, Onera hPSG®, has been honoured with the prestigious Red Dot Product Design Award for 2026. This international recognition celebrates exceptional design quality and underscores Onera Health's commitment to excellence, creativity, and patient-centric innovation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260710266668/en/ Onera Health's patch-based home polysomnography solution, Onera hPSG®, wins Prestigious Red Dot Product Design Award 2026. The Red Dot Award, one of the most sought-after seals of quality for good design, attracted thousands of entries from around the globe. Onera hPSG® stood out f
teamLab Biovortex Kyoto Welcomes Over 1 Million Visitors within 9 Months of Opening10.7.2026 09:00:00 CEST | Press release
teamLab Biovortex Kyoto has welcomed over 1 million visitors as of July 6, 2026, 9 months after its grand opening. (*1) These visitors arrived from more than 150 countries and regions. International visitors account for approximately 42% of the total. Many of these international visitors travel from distant countries and regions, including the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Approximately 30% of these international visitors purchase their tickets at least 30 days in advance. teamLab Biovortex Kyoto is teamLab's largest museum in Japan, with an average visitor stay of over two and a half hours. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260709913938/en/ teamLab Biovortex Kyoto Welcomes Over 1 Million Visitors within 9 Months of Opening *1 According to ticket purchase data from the official teamLab Biovortex Kyoto website (survey period: October 7, 2025 – July 6, 2026) Visitors Comment (M
Robbyant Launches LingBot-VA 2.0 Built Natively for Embodied AI and Physical World Control10.7.2026 08:48:00 CEST | Press release
Robbyant, an embodied AI company within Ant Group, today announced the release of LingBot-VA 2.0, the industry’s first embodied-native video-action world model. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260709654440/en/ A robot powered by LingBot-VA 2.0 engages in a real-time tabletop air hockey match with a human This release marks a key transition in robotics foundation models, shifting from repurposing digital world models to designing them natively for the physical world. Instead of relying on fine-tuned digital content generation models, LingBot-VA 2.0 is built from scratch to meet the original demands of dynamic modeling, causal prediction, and real-time execution in physical environments. Integrating world models with embodied AI has been one of the major focuses of the AI industry. However, most mainstream approaches rely on video generation models designed for digital content, which are then fine-tuned for robo
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom
