The son of Albert and Frances Blackwell, he was educated first at Latymer Upper School,[citation needed] and as a Junior Exhibitioner at The Royal Academy of Music in London.

He then obtained a Thouron Award to study at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated with a master of business administration in 1975, and then in 1976 with a doctor of philosophy in finance and economics.

[2] In 1978 he moved to McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting[2] and from where, in 1986, he was seconded to work, until 1987, for the Conservative government of the United Kingdom.

Back at McKinsey's, Blackwell was made a partner in 1984[3] and he remained with the firm until 1995,[2] when a second spell working for a British Conservative Government commenced.

That administration's defeat in the 1997 general election saw him again take up private sector employment with National Westminster Bank as director of group development between 1997 and 2000.

The new millennium witnessed a change in employment opportunities and he began a new phase in his career as a non-executive director and advisor appointed to a number of public listed companies.

[13] He served as senior independent non-executive director at Corporate Services Group Plc, a recruitment and employment agency, from December 2000 to 9 June 2006.

By advocating this middle way, Global Vision promotes a constructive new relationship between the UK and Europe based on free trade and mutually beneficial cooperation, whilst opting out of the process of political and economic integration.

[19] Norman Blackwell was appointed a non-executive board member for The Office of Communications (Welsh: Y Swyddfa Gyfathrebiadau), commonly known as Ofcom, initially for a three-year term, from 1 September 2009.

[2] The OFT is a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator.

The OFT's goal is to make markets work well for consumers, ensuring vigorous competition between fair-dealing businesses and prohibiting unfair practices such as rogue trading, scams and cartels.