Cassie Davison
Founder of Kith & Kin | Author | Speaker & Advisor
bringing the reality of independent hospitality into focus
Background
For more than thirty years, Cassie has lived the reality of independent hospitality, spending over twenty-five of those years as an owner-operator.
She has opened, built and led pubs, cafés, fine-dining restaurants and festivals from scratch — shaping them into distinctive, award-winning businesses while operating inside the constant pressure of running them.
What she does now
Cassie is the founder of Kith & Kin, an authority-led ecosystem built around representing, articulating, and translating the real experience of independent hospitality operators.
Her work connects the people who run hospitality with the organisations that support it, helping both sides understand each other more clearly.
She is regularly invited into industry conversations, roundtables, and advisory settings where independent hospitality needs to be represented accurately and understood properly.
It is grounded in a simple belief:
Belonging is independent hospitality’s competitive advantage.
Where this work happens
Cassie’s work spans:
– speaking at industry events, panels, and roundtables
– delivering workshops for independent operators
– advising organisations and public bodies
– contributing to industry conversations and sector development
– writing and publishing Stand Out Hospitality
Across all of this, the focus is the same:
→ bringing clarity to the reality of independent hospitality
Approach
Cassie’s work is direct, grounded and shaped by lived experience.
She speaks with clarity and compassion because she has stood in every part of the operator’s journey — the highs, the rebuilding phases, and the moments that test who you are as a leader.
Her work is not about adding more noise.
It is about helping people see more clearly.
Recognition & Media
Cassie’s work has been widely recognised across the industry, with over 25 awards spanning entrepreneurship, design, leadership, food, culture and community impact.
Some highlights include:
Selected recognition
Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year
Niche Magazine Businesswoman of the Year
Visit England Best Pub
3 AA Rosettes
Which? Good Food Guide Best Newcomer
Midlands Restaurant of the Year
Most Instagrammable Venue
Wish It Was Our Local
Press & Features
The Guardian
The Times
The Telegraph
BBC
Forbes
Restaurant Magazine
The Caterer
Olive Magazine
Roles & affiliations
Author of Stand Out Hospitality (2025)
Ambassador for the British Institute of Innkeeping
Strategic Advisor – De Montfort University Business School
Judge – Licensee of the Year Awards
Contributor to industry panels and roundtables
MBA (2010)
What it’s like to work with Cassie
Here’s what clients, collaborators, and hospitality peers have shared about working with her.
Cassie’s work increasingly sits at the intersection between operators, organisations, and the wider industry —
helping to shape how independent hospitality is understood, supported, and valued.
Next step
To explore speaking, workshops, or collaboration: