Nick Rhind has left CTI Digital 22 years after he founded the company.
His exit comes two years after CTI Digital received a £25m minority investment from LDC and 12 months after he stepped down as CEO.
Rhind has spent the last six months on gardening leave but insisted it’s ‘not the end of the journey’ and revealed he now plans to help other founders on their investment journey.
Writing on LinkedIn he said: “Seeing a founder leaving his or her own company is not something we see every day.
“For many people, that isn’t something expected to happen. Neither did I, in fact it weighed on my mind for several months.
“Since we took investment in 2022, and I stepped back from being the CEO in 2023, it’s given me lots of time to reflect on what I did well and what I didn’t and what I could have done differently.
“I can now start meeting people again. As a very social person this was the hardest part for me just disappearing off a cliff.”
CTI helps companies to grow and develop through digital transformation.
When LDC invested £25m in 2022, CTI had made five acquisitions in the previous three years, growing revenues to £18m and staff numbers to 175.
At the time, the investment was intended to acquire complementary businesses in the UK and overseas.
LDC’s Richard Ibbett and Dale Alderson both joined the board as part of the deal, alongside experienced Simon Wilkinson, who joined the group as non-executive chairman.
Explaining his future plans, Rhind said: “I’m looking to work with founders who are looking to exit or get in a position to exit.
“Where I’m different is that I’ve been on both sides of the fence having bought and sold companies. I have all the war stories of what those hard fought legals actually mean in reality that the advisors and deal makers don’t want to talk about pre and post deal.
“When I set up CTI it was about investing in people and technology and the knock-on was great profit and it was core to our DNA and why our retention was so great and the reputation. A core value is key.
“Now my reality and core value will be how do I help founders exit better than me, whether its financially or even emotionally. As I discovered, it’s certainly a bit of both.”