Executive Title Levels: VP, SVP, EVP and the C-Suite
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerExecutive titles generally ascend from Vice President (VP) to Senior Vice President (SVP) to Executive Vice President (EVP), with C-suite titles (CxO) typically at the top, leading whole functions on the executive team. But the levels are not standardised — what a title means depends […]
CMO vs Chief Growth Officer: What’s the Difference?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA CMO owns marketing — brand, demand, and how the business is seen and grows through marketing; a Chief Growth Officer owns growth as a broader, cross-functional mission spanning marketing, product, data, and commercial. The CMO leads a function; the Chief Growth Officer integrates several. […]
What Does a VP of Finance Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA VP of Finance leads and runs the finance function operationally — financial planning and analysis, reporting, budgeting, and often the finance team — usually with a hands-on, executional focus. Where a CFO owns financial strategy and sits on the executive team, a VP of […]
What Does a Chief Compliance Officer Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA Chief Compliance Officer ensures a business complies with the laws, regulations, and standards that apply to it — building and overseeing the compliance programme, advising on regulatory risk, and fostering a culture of integrity. It matters most in regulated industries and as businesses grow, […]
What Does a Chief Risk Officer Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA Chief Risk Officer owns how a business identifies, assesses, and manages the risks it faces — financial, operational, strategic, regulatory, and reputational — building the framework to understand risk and helping the business take the right risks well, not simply avoid them. It matters […]
Leading Through a Crisis: What It Demands of Leaders
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerLeading through a crisis demands calm and decisiveness under pressure, honest and frequent communication, and the judgement to act with incomplete information while protecting what matters most. The leaders who navigate crises well combine steadiness with the ability to make hard decisions fast and keep […]
Post-Merger Leadership Integration: Getting It Right
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerPost-merger leadership integration means deciding the combined leadership team quickly and fairly, aligning it around a shared plan, retaining the key people the deal depends on, and bringing two cultures together with care. Because integration is where deal value is most often lost, getting the […]
Interim vs Fractional Executives: What’s the Difference?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerAn interim executive works full-time but temporarily, usually to lead through a gap, crisis, or period of change; a fractional executive works part-time on an ongoing basis, bringing senior expertise for a fraction of the time and cost. Interim is about temporary full-time leadership; fractional […]
How to Conduct an Executive Interview
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerConduct an executive interview to assess judgement, leadership, and fit — not to be impressed by a polished story. Prepare against the specific mandate, probe how candidates think and decide with real examples, assess cultural and values fit honestly, and remember it is a two-way […]
What Does a Chief Data Officer Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA Chief Data Officer owns how a business manages, governs, and creates value from its data — the data strategy, quality and governance, and the analytics and insight that turn data into better decisions and, increasingly, into products and personalisation. It matters most where data […]
