Born and raised in the Sudbury area, Norman moved to Hamilton to attend McMaster University. After obtaining his undergraduate degree from McMaster (with a major in accounting), Norman worked for a major public accounting firm in the Hamilton area for several years until becoming a Chartered Accountant. Since then he has worked for many years in private industry.

Norman has held a variety of positions within a diverse group of leading Canadian companies. Most notably, he was vice-president of finance and accounting for the Canadian subsidiary of a major Fortune 500 Company. In that role, he was a senior member of the Canadian Management team, responsible for implementing and carrying out the annual business plan.

Most recently, Norman has been involved with a number of different projects. He helped oversee the seamless relocation of the entire accounting and administrative functions from a high service cost area to a low service cost area , the closure of unprofitable operating centres and transfer of activities to local service partners, and the implementation of a new tier based pricing structure designed to improved product profitability and customer loyalty.

Norman teaches Financial Principles I and II at Metalworks Institute.