Amazon’s former UK chief Doug Gurr has been appointed chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority.
David M. Benett | Getty Images for David M. Benett Amazon
LONDON — Britain’s competition watchdog has named a former Amazon executive as its new chairman after facing accusations from Prime Minister Keir Starmer of stifling growth.
Competition and Markets Authority declare On Tuesday evening, Doug Gurr, former Amazon UK country manager and president of Amazon China, will succeed Marcus Bokkerink as interim chairman.
It comes after CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell and other regulators held meetings with UK finance minister Rachel Reeves to put forward ideas on how to stimulate growth. Regulators were told to “remove barriers to business and refocus efforts on growth”.
Caddell thanked Bocklinck for his leadership since becoming chairman in 2022, telling CNBC on Wednesday: “He has worked tirelessly to defend consumers, competition and a level playing field for business, and is deeply committed to openness and stakeholders across the UK.” participate”
She said: “The CMA plays a key role in supporting the government’s growth mission. I welcome the appointment of Doug Gurr as the new interim chairman of the CMA and look forward to working closely with him to drive growth, opportunity and prosperity in the UK.” Comments via email Add to.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement that the government wanted to see regulators like the CMA “promoting the economy through business-friendly decisions that drive prosperity and growth, allowing More money goes into people’s pockets”.
Reeves said the decision to replace Bocklinck was taken because the CMA needed to be led by someone who shared the government’s “strategic direction”.
“He recognizes that now is the time to move on and make way for those who share the mission and strategic direction of this administration,” she told Bloomberg in an interview on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Promote taking growth “seriously”
In a sign of his commitment to the CMA, Prime Minister Starmer told investors last year that he wanted to ensure “every regulator in this country – especially our economic and competition regulators – takes growth as seriously as this room does” Job dissatisfaction.
The UK faces wider criticism from tech executives and investors over a number of regulatory decisions, including intervention Microsoft’s take over Video game publisher Activision Blizzard and its mandatory decision Yuan Facebook to divestment GIF database Giphy.
“The announcement of the CMA’s new chairman cannot be purely coincidental, as it comes at a time when the UK government is pushing hard on its growth agenda and calling regulators to account for their own policies to stimulate growth.” Alex Haffner, competition partner at Fladgate.
Hafner added: “The interim nature of Mr Geer’s appointment suggests it is less about succession planning and more a reaction to current events. His background is also unabashedly business and not directed towards His predecessor provided counseling.
Gurr’s appointment as CMA chairman comes after the regulator gained new powers to regulate big tech companies under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill (DMCC), which aims to prevent anti-competitive behavior in digital markets.
It can designate large companies with significant market power in certain digital activities as having a “strategic market position.” The CMA now has the power to implement changes to prevent potentially anti-competitive behavior by any company that acquires a strategic market position.
