Foster has been in financial services for over 30 years and was previously chief operating officer at Computershare.
He joined Halifax Building Society in 1990 on a management development programme, and Halifax became part of HBOS, he worked in all areas of the bank, including underwriting for its central London mortgage intermediary business, before joining its corporate business team.
Foster was appointed as commercial director of the B2B share plan business, HBOS Employee Equity Solutions.
After the global financial crisis, Foster played an instrumental role in the sale of the HBOS share plan business to Computershare in 2010.
He then undertook various senior roles at Computershare, including operations director, managing director, divisional managing director and ultimately chief operating officer for the Bristol-based business.
Foster said: “This is an exciting time to be joining BuildStore. I have spent much of my career leading cultural and technological transformation programmes in response to changing market conditions.
“I am looking forward to being involved in the next successful chapter of BuildStore’s history as market-leaders, following the announcement of some far-reaching government policies to support custom and self build homes.
“This will culminate in the launch of the Help to Build Equity Loan scheme in September this year.”
Raymond Connor, group CEO of BuildStore, said: “The government’s action plan, including the recent announcement of Help to Build, is an exciting time for the custom and self build industry.
“So I am really pleased that we have been able to strengthen our team at this crucial juncture with someone of Julian’s experience and calibre.”
