AI-first product development partner with 25 years of enterprise delivery. Founded 2000, Chicago. Bootstrapped. Privately held. WBENC Certified.
Founder, President & Executive Chairman. Serial entrepreneur. 25-year company builder.
Executive Chair & COO
CEO (since Oct 2022) — ex-GlobalLogic, Capgemini
CFO
CTO
Chief AI Officer
Chief Delivery Officer
Chief Quality Officer
CISO & Data Officer
Full-spectrum AI-first product development from strategy through managed operations.
Success measured by product/business value, not billable hours
End-to-end ownership of a capability or product area
Staff augmentation / team extension for scaling needs
18-hour workday coverage. Remote-first culture. 130+ engineers in Latin America.
| Client / Sector | Challenge | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Analytics | Data engineering gaps; no AI-ready infrastructure | Scalable EMR platform in 6 months |
| Insurance Claims | Legacy platform modernization | $3M annual savings + reduced errors + faster audits |
| Edgeworx (IoT) | ioFog platform evolution | 60% faster deployment 40% cost reduction |
| Interfirst Mortgage | Infrastructure modernization | 50% infra cost reduction + new SaaS platform |
| Guideline | Engineering partnership | Named sole engineering supplier |
| Civica | Strategic engagement | Projected top-5 client within 12 months |
EMR platforms, AI healthcare analytics, HIPAA compliance
Claims modernization, SaaS platforms, regulatory compliance
Product engineering for technology companies
Portfolio company tech acceleration
Supply chain optimization, e-commerce, digital transformation
Advisory technology, EdTech platforms
| Metric | Forte Group | DataArt | Grid Dynamics | EPAM | Globant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $126M–$219M | $400M–$800M | ~$412M | ~$5.3B | ~$2.45B |
| Employees | ~900 | 5,000–10,000 | ~4,000 | ~62,850 | ~30,000 |
| Public / Private | Private | Private | NASDAQ: GDYN | NYSE: EPAM | NYSE: GLOB |
| Clutch Rating | 4.9/5 | — | — | 4.7/5 | — |
| WBENC Certified | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Gartner Coverage | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI-First Brand | Yes | Emerging | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing ($/hr) | $50–$99 | $50–$99 | $50–$99 | $100–$149 | $100–$149 |
Only firm among direct peers with women-owned certification. Structural advantage in Fortune 500 procurement.
Healthcare + fintech compliance expertise creates high switching costs. Competitors struggle to replicate institutional knowledge.
90% retention and 74.5 NPS at mid-market scale. Larger competitors lose this as they grow.
Achieving coverage in even one Magic Quadrant or Wave would dramatically expand pipeline visibility. Grid Dynamics (a direct peer) has achieved this — Forte can too.
The AI-first brand needs proof points. The $3M claims savings story is strong — need more like it across healthcare, fintech, and SaaS verticals.
Nearshoring demand is at peak. Colombia and Argentina operations should be expanded aggressively while the market window is open.
This is a structural advantage no direct competitor can match. Ensure the sales process highlights it consistently and early in procurement cycles.
Move from pure services to IP-enhanced services. Reusable AI deployment frameworks for healthcare and fintech would increase margins and create defensibility.
Accelerate AI talent density. Target 50–100 person AI-native firms that bring both capability and client base.
Shift from project-based to recurring revenue. AI model monitoring, retraining, and governance as managed services create predictable income.
Critical mass to sustain analyst coverage, compete for mid-enterprise deals, and resist consolidation pressure from larger acquirers.
The bootstrapped model served Forte well for 25 years, but scaling to $500M may require growth capital. A PE minority stake preserves independence while funding M&A.
Forte Group has the cultural foundation and market positioning to become a $500M+ AI-focused services firm — but only if it transitions from organic-growth discipline to a more aggressive, investment-led growth phase in the next 2–3 years. The WBENC certification combined with AI-first positioning in healthcare and fintech creates a unique and defensible market position that neither larger nor smaller competitors can easily replicate. The window is open now; it may not be in five years.