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.
Managing Director vs General Manager: What’s the Difference?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerBoth a Managing Director and a General Manager lead a business, unit, or market and own its performance, and in many contexts the roles are similar. The differences are largely regional and structural: ‘Managing Director’ often implies leading a whole company or market with more […]
CFO vs Financial Controller: What’s the Difference?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA CFO leads finance strategically — owning financial strategy, planning, capital, and the business’s financial direction, as a member of the executive team; a Financial Controller leads the core accounting function — the books, reporting, controls, and compliance. Broadly, the Controller ensures the numbers are […]
What Does a VP of Operations Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA VP of Operations leads and runs a business’s operations day to day — the processes, systems, and teams that deliver the product or service reliably and efficiently. It is a hands-on, executional leadership role, typically focused on running and improving operations, and often reporting […]
What Does a General Counsel Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA General Counsel (or Chief Legal Officer) leads a business’s legal function — managing legal risk, advising on major decisions and transactions, ensuring compliance and good governance, and increasingly acting as a strategic advisor to the CEO and board. The role has grown well beyond […]
What Does a Chief Strategy Officer Do?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA Chief Strategy Officer owns the development and execution of a business’s strategy — leading how the company decides where to compete, where to grow, and how to win, and helping turn that strategy into action. It exists where strategy is complex or consequential enough […]
Hiring Leaders for New Market Expansion
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerWhen expanding into a new market, hire a leader who combines genuine local market knowledge and networks with the ability to represent and build your business there — and be clear about whether you need a local market expert, a company insider who relocates, or […]
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 […]
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, […]
What Is a Search Committee?
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerA search committee is a group formed to lead the hiring of a senior role — commonly a CEO, executive director, or board appointment at a nonprofit, institution, or organisation. It brings together the stakeholders who should have a voice, defines the role, oversees the […]
How to Build a High-Performing Leadership Team
By Annabel Norman, Managing Partner · Norman Consultants The short answerHigh-performing leadership teams share a few things: the right people with complementary strengths, genuine alignment on goals and priorities, trust and honest debate, clear ownership and accountability, and a shared commitment to the whole business over individual functions. Building one takes deliberate effort from the […]
