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.
Color Cosmetics Leadership: Hiring for the Category
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerColor cosmetics leadership takes a feel for creativity, trend, and self-expression alongside the commercial and operational rigour to move fast in a fiercely competitive category. The best leaders combine genuine understanding of makeup as creativity and self-expression — and the trends and culture that drive […]
Board Diversity: Why It Matters and How to Improve It
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerBoard diversity — of background, experience, perspective, and identity — matters because diverse boards tend to bring broader perspective, better challenge, and sounder decisions, and because a board that reflects the market and stakeholders it serves governs more relevantly. Improving it means searching beyond the […]
Executive Equity: Options vs RSUs Explained
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerShare options give an executive the right to buy shares at a set price in future, gaining value only if the share price rises above that price; RSUs are grants of shares that vest over time and have value as long as the shares do. […]
How to Hire an Eyewear Brand Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire eyewear leaders who understand the category’s blend of fashion and function — eyewear as both a style statement and a vision product — and its distinctive retail, optical, and increasingly digital and health dimensions. The best combine genuine brand and design sensibility with commercial […]
How to Hire a Pet Care Brand Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire pet care leaders who understand the category’s emotionally-driven consumer — pet owners who treat pets as family — the humanisation and premiumisation reshaping it, and its blend of consumer brand-building with product, science, and (in food and health) regulation. The best combine genuine category […]
How to Hire a Jewelry & Accessories Executive
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHire jewelry and accessories leaders who combine genuine design and brand sensibility with the commercial and retail expertise the category demands — and, in fine jewelry and luxury, an understanding of craft, materials, and heritage. The best pair an eye for desirability with commercial rigour […]
Executive Search Guarantees & Replacement Terms Explained
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA search guarantee (or replacement term) is a provision in an executive search engagement under which the firm will conduct a replacement search, often at reduced or no additional fee, if a placed candidate leaves or is dismissed within a defined period. It reflects the […]
Background Checks vs References in Executive Hiring
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerReferences and background checks serve different purposes in executive hiring. Referencing gathers informed views on a candidate’s performance, leadership, and fit from people who have worked with them; background checks verify factual matters — qualifications, employment history, and sometimes legal or financial records. References tell […]
What Is Gardening Leave?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerGardening leave is a period during which a departing employee — usually a senior one who has resigned or been given notice — remains employed and paid but is kept away from work, the office, and often clients and information, until their employment formally ends. […]
President vs Managing Director: What’s the Difference?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerBoth President and Managing Director can denote the senior leader running a business, market, or division, and the two often overlap. The differences are largely regional and structural: ‘President’ is common in the US and often denotes a top or divisional leader, while ‘Managing Director’ […]
