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, […]
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 […]
Signs Your Business Has Outgrown Its Leadership
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA business may have outgrown its leadership when the same problems keep recurring, when decisions bottleneck at the top, when the business is operating beyond the team’s prior experience, or when growth stalls without clear external cause. These are signals to strengthen or evolve the […]
What Is Executive Severance?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerExecutive severance is the compensation and terms a senior leader receives on leaving a business, particularly if their employment is ended by the company. Agreed in advance as part of the appointment, it provides security to the executive and clarity to the business, and typically […]
Executive Bonus Structures Explained
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerAn executive bonus is variable pay tied to performance, usually paid annually against defined targets — financial, strategic, and often personal or team objectives. How a bonus is structured signals what the business wants the leader to prioritise, so designing it well, around the right […]
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 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 […]
