How to Hire a VP of Finance
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire a VP of Finance who combines strong financial and technical capability with the leadership to run a finance team and deliver reliable financial management — and be clear whether you need an operational finance leader or a strategic one (a CFO). Match the leader […]
How to Hire a Chief Transformation Officer
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire a Chief Transformation Officer who has genuinely led complex change through an organisation before — combining strong change-leadership, influence, and delivery with resilience under pressure. Define the transformation clearly, and hire for proven ability to drive comparable change, plus the temperament for an intense, […]
How to Hire a Chief Risk Officer
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire a Chief Risk Officer who can build a clear, honest picture of the business’s risks and help it take the right risks knowingly — not just avoid them. Match their expertise to your specific risk landscape, and look for a leader who combines risk […]
Color Cosmetics Leadership: Hiring for the Category
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerColor cosmetics leadership takes a feel for creativity, trend, and self-expression alongside the commercial and operational rigour to move fast in a fiercely competitive category. The best leaders combine genuine understanding of makeup as creativity and self-expression — and the trends and culture that drive […]
Board Diversity: Why It Matters and How to Improve It
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerBoard diversity — of background, experience, perspective, and identity — matters because diverse boards tend to bring broader perspective, better challenge, and sounder decisions, and because a board that reflects the market and stakeholders it serves governs more relevantly. Improving it means searching beyond the […]
How to Hire an Eyewear Brand Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire eyewear leaders who understand the category’s blend of fashion and function — eyewear as both a style statement and a vision product — and its distinctive retail, optical, and increasingly digital and health dimensions. The best combine genuine brand and design sensibility with commercial […]
Executive Equity: Options vs RSUs Explained
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerShare options give an executive the right to buy shares at a set price in future, gaining value only if the share price rises above that price; RSUs are grants of shares that vest over time and have value as long as the shares do. […]
How to Hire a Jewelry & Accessories Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire jewelry and accessories leaders who combine genuine design and brand sensibility with the commercial and retail expertise the category demands — and, in fine jewelry and luxury, an understanding of craft, materials, and heritage. The best pair an eye for desirability with commercial rigour […]
How to Hire a Pet Care Brand Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire pet care leaders who understand the category’s emotionally-driven consumer — pet owners who treat pets as family — the humanisation and premiumisation reshaping it, and its blend of consumer brand-building with product, science, and (in food and health) regulation. The best combine genuine category […]
Executive Search Guarantees & Replacement Terms Explained
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA search guarantee (or replacement term) is a provision in an executive search engagement under which the firm will conduct a replacement search, often at reduced or no additional fee, if a placed candidate leaves or is dismissed within a defined period. It reflects the […]
