LDC and CTI Group have appointed Chris Woodward as CTI group CEO. The appointment follows a ‘multi-million pound’ investment from private equity firm Lloyds Development Capital (LDC)
Woodward joins from Oliver Agency, where he most recently held the position of UK Group COO. Previously he was the UK Group MD of Oliver and MD of Dare, the digital arm within the Oliver network.
He takes on the group CEO position from Nick Rhind, who moves to the role of ‘founder’ and will focus on mentoring the board and driving the significant M&A activity planned in 2024. The changes come as part of a strategy to bolster the CTI Group leadership team as the business gears up for growth.
Rhind said: “CTI has grown substantially over the last five years and is now poised to expand further with the backing we have secured from LDC. It is therefore the right time to grow the strength and depth of our leadership team and I am delighted that Chris is joining us. His track record at Oliver speaks for itself and his softer skills as a leader are also second to none.
“Having Chris as part of the team will allow me to concentrate on our M&A activity that has become a significant focus for us as we grow capability to address broader client needs. Our goal is to consolidate our position as one of the UK’s leading and fastest growing end-to-end digital agencies.”
Woodward added: “I have loved my four years at Oliver. To have played a key role in an agency that consistently sees double percentage point year-on-year organic growth is an incredible roller coaster ride. But now felt like the right time to take that experience and apply it in a different setting.
“CTI is becoming a hive of creativity, expertly placed to support brands across the full breadth of their digital growth. We engineer rock-solid digital foundations, create effective campaign content and significantly optimise conversion at the other end.
“Too often agencies can only partially help brands in this space and the fact that we have strength in all areas under one roof is highly compelling, and can provide significant commercial advantage to our clients.”
