Andy hails from Manchester, UK. Andy worked for a local yarn spinning factory in the North of England during his formative years in the textile sector, before leaving industry in order to attend the University of Leeds, from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Textile Process Engineering. (Years later, in 1988, he was recognised as a Chartered Textile Technologist, and awarded the Associateship of the Textile Industry, ATI) .

After emigrating to South Africa in January 1984, he worked for 3 years in Johannesburg, in various roles within  a JSE-listed vertically-orientated textile fabric manufacturer.

He then re-located to Durban in late 1986, after being appointed as Joint Managing Director of a well-known textile machinery agency, where he gained wide exposure in capital sales of a variety of textile technologies, representing major blue chip manufacturers of spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, finishing, and nonwovens machinery.

On the 1st September 2000, Andy, together with Peter Grigoratos and John Wood, (since retired) founded Texmate Textiles, and several years later, following its diversification, Texmate Bakery Solutions.

Andy is a keen runner, with his main activities being in track and field, cross country, road and trail.  He has completed eleven  Comrades Marathons, eleven 2 Oceans Marathons, and continues to race competitively. Amongst his achievements are the Silver Medal at the SA Ultra Team Duathlon Championships, many podium finishes at various races, and he has been selected to run for the province of Kwa Zulu Natal, at cross country, and has won several medals at the National Cross Country Championships.

Andy is married to Lara, and has recently re-located to a new Home Office in Cape Town.