Chairman vs CEO: What’s the Difference?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerThe CEO runs the company — leading management, setting and executing strategy, and being accountable for performance; the Chairman leads the board, which oversees the company and holds management to account on behalf of the owners. In short, the CEO runs the business and the […]
What Does a VP of Operations Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA VP of Operations leads and runs a business’s operations day to day — the processes, systems, and teams that deliver the product or service reliably and efficiently. It is a hands-on, executional leadership role, typically focused on running and improving operations, and often reporting […]
CFO vs Financial Controller: What’s the Difference?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA CFO leads finance strategically — owning financial strategy, planning, capital, and the business’s financial direction, as a member of the executive team; a Financial Controller leads the core accounting function — the books, reporting, controls, and compliance. Broadly, the Controller ensures the numbers are […]
What Does a General Counsel Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA General Counsel (or Chief Legal Officer) leads a business’s legal function — managing legal risk, advising on major decisions and transactions, ensuring compliance and good governance, and increasingly acting as a strategic advisor to the CEO and board. The role has grown well beyond […]
What Does a Chief Strategy Officer Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA Chief Strategy Officer owns the development and execution of a business’s strategy — leading how the company decides where to compete, where to grow, and how to win, and helping turn that strategy into action. It exists where strategy is complex or consequential enough […]
Hiring Leaders for New Market Expansion
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerWhen expanding into a new market, hire a leader who combines genuine local market knowledge and networks with the ability to represent and build your business there — and be clear about whether you need a local market expert, a company insider who relocates, or […]
Moving from Corporate to Startup Leadership
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerMoving from corporate to startup leadership means trading structure, resources, and scale for ambiguity, speed, and doing more with less. The leaders who succeed embrace a hands-on, adaptable, build-it-yourself mindset and let go of reliance on the systems and teams a big company provides. Self-awareness […]
Building a Non-Executive Portfolio Career
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA non-executive portfolio career means holding several part-time roles — typically non-executive directorships, board chairs, and advisory positions — rather than a single full-time executive job. It suits experienced leaders wanting to apply their expertise across multiple organisations, and is built gradually through reputation, relationships, […]
What Is a Search Committee?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA search committee is a group formed to lead the hiring of a senior role — commonly a CEO, executive director, or board appointment at a nonprofit, institution, or organisation. It brings together the stakeholders who should have a voice, defines the role, oversees the […]
Hiring Externally vs Promoting from Within
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerPromote from within when you have a ready internal candidate whose capability and potential genuinely fit the role, to reward and retain talent and preserve knowledge and culture; hire externally when the role needs experience, skills, or fresh perspective the business lacks internally. The best […]
