Practical, non-promotional guides on executive search, leadership hiring, C-suite roles, executive compensation, governance, and building leadership teams — with deep focus on beauty, personal care, and the broader consumer sector. Start with our hubs: C-Suite Roles, Executive Hiring Guides, Beauty Leadership, Executive Compensation, and the Glossary.
How to Hire a Coffee & Tea Brand Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire coffee and tea leaders who understand the categories’ blend of everyday ritual and premiumisation, the role of craft, provenance, and increasingly sustainability, and their distinctive channels from retail to foodservice to direct. The best combine genuine category feel with brand and commercial strength across […]
How to Hire a Health & Fitness Brand Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire health and fitness leaders who understand the category’s community- and motivation-driven consumer, its blend of physical and increasingly digital experience, and its distinctive business models. The best combine genuine passion for and credibility in health and fitness with the commercial and operational rigour to […]
What Does an Executive Search Consultant Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerAn executive search consultant leads a search end to end — working with the client to define the role, mapping and approaching the market, assessing candidates, and guiding the process through to appointment. They combine market knowledge, judgement, and relationship skills, and because so much […]
Sector-Specialist vs Generalist Executive Search Firms
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA sector-specialist search firm brings deep knowledge of a specific industry — its market, talent, and dynamics — and relationships built over time; a generalist firm brings breadth across sectors and functions. For roles where industry knowledge and networks matter, specialists often add more; for […]
Boutique vs Global Executive Search Firms: Which to Choose
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerGlobal search firms offer scale, breadth, and reach across markets and functions; boutique firms offer focus, specialism, senior attention, and often deeper category or market expertise. Neither is inherently better — the right choice depends on the role, the sector, and what you value: broad […]
What Does a Group CEO Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA Group CEO leads a group of businesses, brands, or divisions — owning the strategy, performance, and leadership of the whole portfolio rather than a single company. The role is about allocating capital and attention across businesses, leading the leaders who run them, and creating […]
What Does a Country Manager Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA Country Manager leads a company’s operations in a specific country or market — owning its commercial performance, team, and local execution, and often serving as the business’s face and top leader there. It is a pivotal role for international businesses, blending running a local […]
How to Hire a Chief Transformation Officer
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire a Chief Transformation Officer who has genuinely led complex change through an organisation before — combining strong change-leadership, influence, and delivery with resilience under pressure. Define the transformation clearly, and hire for proven ability to drive comparable change, plus the temperament for an intense, […]
How to Hire a VP of Finance
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire a VP of Finance who combines strong financial and technical capability with the leadership to run a finance team and deliver reliable financial management — and be clear whether you need an operational finance leader or a strategic one (a CFO). Match the leader […]
How to Hire a Chief Risk Officer
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire a Chief Risk Officer who can build a clear, honest picture of the business’s risks and help it take the right risks knowingly — not just avoid them. Match their expertise to your specific risk landscape, and look for a leader who combines risk […]
