When to Replace Your CEO
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerConsider replacing a CEO when the business consistently needs something the current leader cannot provide for its next chapter — not because of a single setback or personality friction. Judge it against the future the business requires, separate fixable issues from fundamental mismatch, and, if […]
Executive Search for CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) Companies
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerExecutive search for CPG companies means finding leaders fluent in the specific disciplines the sector runs on — brand-building, retail and channel management, supply chain and scale, and increasingly digital and DTC. The best CPG leaders combine brand and commercial strength with genuine operational capability, […]
What Does a Chief Growth Officer Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA Chief Growth Officer owns growth as an integrated mission — pulling together marketing, product, data, and commercial levers that usually sit in separate functions to drive customer acquisition, retention, and revenue. It exists where growth is too cross-cutting to belong to any one function, […]
What Does a Chief of Staff Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA Chief of Staff extends a CEO’s capacity — driving priorities across the organisation, making sure decisions get made and executed, and handling the cross-cutting work that falls between functions. It is a role about leverage and execution, not a personal assistant, and it works […]
Culture Fit vs Culture Add in Executive Hiring
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerCulture fit asks whether a leader will thrive in and reinforce your culture; culture add asks what they will bring that strengthens it. Both matter, but an over-reliance on fit alone quietly narrows a leadership team and entrenches its blind spots. The strongest approach hires […]
Advisory Boards vs Boards of Directors
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA board of directors has formal governance authority and legal responsibility for the business; an advisory board has neither — it provides guidance and expertise without power or accountability. Growing businesses often use an advisory board for flexible counsel early, and a formal board as […]
Negotiating an Executive Offer
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerNegotiating an executive offer is about the whole package and the mandate, not just base pay. Focus on the structure — base, bonus, and long-term incentive — the scope and authority of the role, and the terms that matter over years. Approach it as building […]
What Makes a Great CMO?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerGreat CMOs pair brand vision with commercial accountability — building brands that drive demand and owning marketing’s contribution to revenue, not just awareness. They lead across the modern marketing stack, partner well with the rest of the C-suite, and are fluent in both the creative […]
What Is a Fractional Executive?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA fractional executive is a senior leader who works with a business part-time, on an ongoing basis — bringing C-suite expertise for a fraction of the time and cost of a full-time hire. They suit businesses that need senior capability but not yet a full-time […]
What Does a VP or Head of Sales Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA VP or Head of Sales owns revenue generation — building and leading the sales organisation, winning and growing customers and accounts, and delivering the numbers the business depends on. In consumer businesses this spans retail and wholesale accounts, channel strategy, and the field team, […]
