Andy has spent his working life in education and training. He completed his teacher training at Manchester University and began his career as a secondary school English teacher in Cheshire and Manchester, before moving into further education by joining Manchester College.

His first senior management role was as Director of Widening Participation at Oldham College and he went on to be Vice-Principal of Blackpool and the Fylde College. He has since served as Principal of four colleges: Hertford Regional College, the College of Haringey Enfield and North East London (CONEL), City & Islington College, and most recently City of Bristol College. As Principal of CONEL he worked with a charity called Ambitious About Autism to launch the UK’s first specialist post-16 college for young people with autism and is now a Board member of the charity. 

Andy has maintained a close involvement with the HE sector throughout his career. He was a Trustee of UCAS from 2015 – 2022, and Chair of UCAS Media (UCAS’ commercial subsidiary) from 2017-2022. From 2018-20 he was a member of the Steering Group for the LSE’s CVER (Centre for Vocational Education Research), chaired by Professor Alison Wolf. 

He is currently Head of Development for the Lifelong Education Commission chaired by former Universities Minister Chris Skidmore MP and supported by the ResPublica Think tank. In addition, he works part time as an Apprenticeship Champion for UCAS.  

Andy has a degree in English from Cambridge University, and a PGCE and Diploma in Management Sciences from the University of Manchester. 

Andy joined the Board of Governors on 1 April 2022 and is a member of the People, Finance and Resources Committee. He is also the Academic Board Observer on behalf of the Board of Governors.