Board

Andy studied Civil Engineering at the University of Leeds and Architecture at the University of Liverpool.
Given this background, the majority of Andy’s career has been spent working at the interface between architecture and engineering and he has been involved in the design of many high profile, complex buildings incorporating significant levels of technical innovation.

Prior to setting up in practice, Andy worked for the internationally renowned firm of Ove Arup & Partners for fifteen years, rising to the position of director and leading numerous multi-disciplinary building design teams.

Since 2004 Andy has been committed to establishing Andy Foster Architects as a local practice with a reputation for it’s talented teams and strong design credentials.

Andy has taught and lectured widely and he is currently a member of the MADE Design Review Panel.

Phil Harris is the Executive Director of the Business Research Institute at the University of Chester. He was Dean of Business School from 2009-2014 and holds the Westminster Chair of Marketing and Public Affairs at the University of Chester. He is a past Chairman of the Marketing Council (UK) PLC, Board member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Professor of Marketing  at  the  University  of Otago, New Zealand  and Founding Director  of the Centre  for Corporate and Public Affairs and Reader at Manchester Metropolitan University. Prior to becoming an academic he held positions  in the international chemical and food industries  with  ICI and  RHM in the  UK in Birkenhead, London, Manchester and Runcorn and for EVC International in Brussels. Phil left school at 16 and his first job was as an office boy working for Radio Luxemburg  (UK) Ltd (208) in London and Luxembourg in the burgeoning rock music and pop radio business.  He has been a fan of progressive and heavy rock ever since.

Andrew is the founder & CEO of Storyhouse, the organisation that runs a community-focussed theatre, library and cinema hub in Chester, now one of the country’s most successful and accessible cultural centres, with over 1m customer visits per year. Storyhouse is a pioneering cultural and theatre producer, yet most of the work in its building is community-generated, including over 2,000 sessions targeted at marginalised communities. Andrew was previously Director of Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall. In the private sector, again in Liverpool, he founded a successful marketing agency before going on to found and build the city’s celebrated Hope Street Hotel and The London Carriage Works restaurant.

Andy joined Marketing Cheshire as interim CEO in December 2019. However, he has been a member of the Board for many years. He is also interim Deputy Chief Executive of the Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership. He is Director of Andy Farrall Limited.

Andy was formally Executive Director: Economic Growth, Regeneration and Environment at Warrington Borough Council. Before Warrington, he was Executive Director: Development and Regeneration at Chester City Council.

Andy was Associate Director: Planning & Urban Design at Tibbalds-Monro, London based architects, planners & urban designers, where he undertook commissions for both private and public sector clients across the UK. Before that he worked in Hull and South Wales.

He was chair of the English Historic Towns Form, chair of the North West and North Wales Branch of the Royal Town Planning Institute, Hon Sec of the Urban Design Group and was a Board member of Culture North West.

He has a Masters is Leadership and Management from Lancaster Business School and a BA in Urban & Regional Planning. He is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.