First-Time CEO: What to Know
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerAs a first-time CEO, the biggest shifts are that the buck now stops with you, that you lead through others rather than doing the work yourself, that everything you do signals to the organisation, and that the role can be isolating. The strongest first-time CEOs […]
How to Hire a Food & Beverage Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire food & beverage leaders who combine brand and consumer strength with genuine operational and supply-chain capability, and who understand the category’s distinctive demands — retail and channel complexity, regulation and safety, and shifting consumer preferences. The best F&B leaders pair brand-building with the discipline […]
How to Become a CEO
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerBecoming a CEO comes from building broad leadership experience, owning increasing scope and accountability over time, developing the judgement and people skills the role demands, and being deliberate about the path — seeking roles that stretch you, delivering results, and building the reputation and relationships […]
How to Hire a Wellness Brand Leader
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire a wellness brand leader who combines authentic credibility in health and wellbeing with genuine commercial and brand capability. Wellness consumers are discerning and values-driven, so leaders need real conviction and category understanding alongside the discipline to build a durable business — a balance close […]
How to Retain Executives After an Acquisition
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerRetain executives after an acquisition by addressing early what actually keeps senior leaders: clarity about their role and future, respect for what they built, a voice in the integration, and incentives aligned to staying and succeeding. Uncertainty is the enemy — the businesses that retain […]
How to Hire a Retail CEO
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire a retail CEO who can lead across the disciplines retail runs on — brand and customer, commercial and merchandising, operations and stores, and the digital and omnichannel shift — and match them to your retail model and challenge. The rare retail leaders combine genuine […]
How to Onboard a New CEO
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerOnboard a new CEO by giving them the context, relationships, and clarity they need to lead — a thorough handover, access to the people and information that matter, and an explicit agreement with the board on the mandate and early priorities. Then give them room […]
How to Structure a Leadership Team
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerStructure a leadership team around what the business genuinely needs to do well, not a generic template — defining the critical functions, how they divide, and how they report. The right structure gives every critical area a clear senior owner, avoids gaps and overlaps, keeps […]
Founder-CEO vs Professional CEO: What’s the Difference?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA founder-CEO brings vision, conviction, and deep ownership of the business they created; a professional CEO brings experience of scaling, structure, and running a larger organisation. Neither is inherently better — the right choice depends on what the business needs for its next chapter, and […]
In-House vs External Executive Search: Which to Use
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerUse in-house recruiting for roles where your team has the network, capacity, and objectivity to deliver, and an external search firm for senior, confidential, hard-to-fill, or specialist roles where reach, rigour, and independence matter most. Many businesses use both — internal teams for most hiring, […]
