What Does an Executive Chairman Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerAn Executive Chairman combines leading the board with an active, hands-on executive role in the business — going beyond the governance-focused, part-time remit of a typical non-executive Chair. It is used when a business wants a Chair genuinely involved in running or steering it, often […]
What Does a Deputy CEO Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA Deputy CEO is a senior leader who supports the CEO, often deputising for them and taking on significant leadership responsibility — sometimes as a partner in running the business, sometimes as a CEO-in-waiting. Like other senior titles, its meaning varies, but the constant is […]
How to Hire a Chief Innovation Officer
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire a Chief Innovation Officer to make innovation a repeatable capability the business owns — and be clear whether you need product-and-pipeline innovation, business-model innovation, or a capability-builder. Look for a leader who combines genuine creativity and vision with the ability to build the processes, […]
How to Hire a VP of Marketing
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire a VP of Marketing who combines genuine marketing craft with the leadership to build and run a team and deliver results — and be clear whether you need an operational marketing leader or a strategic one (a CMO). Match the leader to your marketing […]
How to Hire a Chief Brand Officer
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire a Chief Brand Officer who combines deep brand instinct with the strategic weight to protect and build the brand across everything the business does — and define clearly what they own relative to the CMO. Look for a leader who is genuine custodian of […]
Men’s Grooming Brand Leadership: Hiring for the Category
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerLeading a men’s grooming brand takes an understanding of the category’s distinctive consumer, the balance of function and brand, and the shifting attitudes reshaping how men engage with grooming and beauty. The best leaders combine genuine insight into the male grooming consumer with the brand […]
How to Hire a Footwear & Apparel Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire footwear and apparel leaders who combine genuine design and brand sensibility with commercial and operational rigour across a complex product and supply-chain business. The category moves fast and competes on both desirability and execution, so the best leaders pair an eye for product and […]
Leading a Remote or Distributed Team
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerLeading a remote or distributed team takes deliberate communication, intentional culture-building, a focus on outcomes over presence, and extra effort to build trust and connection. What happens naturally in a shared office must be made to happen on purpose when a team is distributed — […]
The Board-CEO Relationship: Getting It Right
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA strong board-CEO relationship rests on clarity about roles, mutual trust and candour, the right balance of support and challenge, and good communication. The board governs and oversees while the CEO runs the business; keeping that distinction clear, while building genuine trust, is what makes […]
Executive Presence: What It Is and Why It Matters
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerExecutive presence is the combination of qualities — confidence and composure, clear communication, sound judgement, and authenticity — that makes a leader credible and able to inspire trust and confidence in others. It is not about being the loudest or most polished; at its core […]
