Board Committees Explained
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerBoard committees are smaller groups of directors that focus in depth on specific areas — most commonly audit (financial oversight and risk), remuneration (executive pay), and nomination (board and leadership appointments). They allow the board to give proper attention to complex areas, and their composition […]
What Is Corporate Governance?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerCorporate governance is the framework of rules, relationships, and processes by which a company is directed and held accountable — chiefly the roles of the board, management, and owners, and how they interact. Good governance provides oversight, accountability, and sound decision-making; it becomes more important […]
What Does a Board Chair Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA board Chair leads the board — running its meetings, shaping its agenda and effectiveness, guiding the relationship between the board and the CEO, and providing counsel and stability. The Chair does not run the company (that is the CEO’s job) but leads how it […]
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 […]
