Two weeks ago, I sent you a newsletter that I’d been putting off writing for months.
I told you I was stepping back as CEO of Add Then Multiply. I told you I was looking for a woman to take over from me, someone I’ve privately been calling “Cerys”, which in the Welsh language means love, one of my company’s core values. I told you why the timing felt right, and what was driving it personally.
Then I pressed send and waited.
I want to tell you what happened next.
Within 24 hours, five women had reached out. Not to say good luck. To say they might be “Cerys”. Over the following days, more came. Some found me through the newsletter. Some through the videos I’ve been posting over the past 3½ weeks which give more of the story behind this. Some through people who’d forwarded the email or LinkedIn posts to someone they thought fit the profile.
I’ve now been approached by 14 women and had initial conversations with 6 of them. Each conversation has been interesting, stimulating and has expanded my thinking about what Add then Multiply could become. There is one person I’m genuinely excited about. And there are more conversations to be held.
None of this happened because I ran a job advert. It happened because I told the truth about where I am in my life and what I’m building, and the right people recognised themselves in it.
I wasn’t sure it would work. I’m glad I tried.
What I learned from going public
The response wasn’t uniformly positive. One person whom I respect, a senior figure in the business world, wrote to me accusing me of tokenism. He said he believed in appointing on merit, not on gender, and that what I was doing was the wrong approach.
I didn’t agree with him, and I didn’t change course. But I thought about it seriously, because he’s not a foolish man and he wasn’t being malicious. He just sees it differently.
My view is this. I’ve spent seven years working with female founders. I’ve seen first-hand how hard it is for women to raise capital, to be taken seriously in M&A conversations, to step into leadership roles in finance and dealmaking. The FACE methodology I’ve created, and the fund for female founders I will one day launch, sits inside that mission. The next CEO of Add then Multiply needs to feel that in her bones, not just understand it intellectually. That’s not tokenism. That’s strategic alignment.
I’m not looking for a woman because I think men are less capable. I’m looking for a woman because the person who leads this business forward needs to live the mission, not just manage it.
These conversations teach you things a job spec never could
I’ve spoken to women who have the desire but don’t have the necessary experience.
I’ve spoken to women who are ready but aren’t sure Add then Multiply is the right vehicle for them yet.
And I’ve spoken to one woman who understood immediately what this business is, what it could become, and what her role in that story might be.
Here’s what I now know about “Cerys” that I didn’t know a few weeks ago.
She won’t be someone who needs convincing about the mission. She’ll already be living some version of it. The female founders work, the integrity-first approach to dealmaking, the belief that how you do a deal matters as much as whether you close it. These won’t be new ideas to her. They’ll be things she’s already been trying to express in her career and hasn’t quite found the right vehicle for.
She’ll have turned something down in her career. A promotion, a partnership, a role that looked great on paper but felt wrong. She’ll know what it’s like to hold out for something that actually fits.
She’ll know the difference between closing a single deal and building a relationship that compounds over a decade.
And she’ll be ready. Not “nearly ready” or “ready in a year or two.”
Ready now. Energised by the idea of putting her name on something, not just contributing to someone else’s story.
What the transition actually looks like
A few people have asked me what stepping back actually means in practice. Let me be specific.
I’m not disappearing. I’m transitioning from CEO to Chair. I’ll still be the outward face of Add then Multiply for the clients and relationships that matter most. I’ll still be involved in the strategic direction of the business. I’ll still be working, just differently.
The overlap period is real and deliberate. Whoever becomes CEO won’t be thrown in at the deep end. We’ll work together properly before I step back, long enough for her to know the clients, understand the methodology, and build her own relationships inside the business.
The timing I’m working towards is to have “Cerys” in place by the end of 2026, with a meaningful overlap before I fully transition to Chair by mid-2027.
The business she’s stepping into has eight people, a track record of over £120 million raised and 32 M&A transactions completed, and a methodology that is genuinely differentiated. The clients are serious operators. The work is meaningful. My book, Add Then Multiply won the Business Book Award in 2020.
This is not a lifestyle business looking for a caretaker. It’s a platform looking for someone to take it further than I can.
The ask
If you know “Cerys”, please send her this newsletter directly.
Not a LinkedIn tag, not a vague mention. Send her a direct message saying: “I think this might be you.”
If you are “Cerys”, send me a note to dbh@addthenmultiply.com.
Three sentences. Who you are, why Add then Multiply resonates, and why now is the right moment for you.
I’m not looking for a CV. I’m looking for a signal.
The campaign continues. The door is open now and I’d rather find the next CEO of Add then Multiply through this community than anywhere else.
David B Horne
Founder of Add Then Multiply & Funding Focus
Add Then Multiply is a fractional finance and business scaling consultancy helping founder-led businesses at £1M–£10M+ to Fund, Acquire, Consolidate, and Exit.
