Rory Davidson: Pivoting to a Senior Startup Role – from Strategy to Country CEO

1Make your intentions unmissable

If you're in a strategy role and want to move into operations, don't assume people will guess. Rory made his ambitions clear from day one to the right stakeholders and kept repeating them. Visibility, he says, is a form of career currency.

He advises doing your job well for a year first, then being explicit. Tell senior leaders what you want next and why it benefits the business. "No one ever thought badly of me for saying, 'I'd love that role one day.'" That persistence meant he was top of mind when opportunities appeared.

2Build your network before you need it

Rory's "chess move" into operations didn't come from job ads. It came from relationships. In large corporates, the people making hiring decisions in sales or marketing often don't know the strategy team. He bridged that gap by deliberately getting to know decision-makers and even frontline staff.

"You can't rely on visibility to just happen," he says. "You have to go out of your way to meet people, ask questions, and learn what makes the business tick." That networking later proved invaluable when he moved into the agritech world. He already had the muscle memory of building credibility through real conversations.

3Don't fear the sideways step

Rory calls his first operational move a "technical demotion." But taking a level down or a sideways move was the smartest long-term play he could have made. It gave him hands-on commercial experience, proving he could drive a P&L rather than just analyse one.

In big businesses, career ladders can feel rigid. But as Rich Rosser reminded him during the session, sometimes you need a "chess move," a temporary step back that unlocks faster progress on a new path. Rory adds, "People respected the fact I was willing to do it. It showed commitment."

4Passion and positioning beat a perfect CV

When Rory left AB InBev after nearly a decade, he didn't have another job lined up. He simply had a growing curiosity about agritech. The appeal wasn't random. He wanted to be closer to something tangible, where he could see the direct impact of his work.

He spent months speaking to founders, attending sustainability and agriculture events, and refining his story. "Every conversation helped, even the bad ones. You learn what resonates and where you actually fit."

Rory discovered his "sweet spot" when he found a subsector of agritech where his food-and-drink supply-chain experience translated directly. "You can't start with a clean slate," he says. "At a senior level, credibility still matters. Bring the transferable skills that will make you valuable from day one."

For anyone exploring a move like this, that means being crystal clear on your Plan A. Identify the specific industry, company size, and type of role where your experience adds something unique.

5Startup life is messy, and that's the point

As UK CEO at Klim, Rory quickly learned there's no manual. "No one knows the answer to half the questions you'll ask," he laughs. Coming from consulting and corporate life, that was an adjustment. You have to make decisions fast, with incomplete data, and be comfortable getting things wrong.

He describes startup life as "being across everything, all the time." From understanding soil health and fertiliser inputs to driving partnerships and hiring a team, his role spans every function. "You can't just delegate to a technical team. You've got to get into the detail yourself."

But that's also what he loves most. "In a startup there's total intellectual honesty. You're not managing politics or process. You're focused on finding the best answer for the business."