CMA Panel Deputy Chairs appointed
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced the appointment of four new Panel Deputy Chairs.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced the appointment of four new Panel Deputy Chairs.
Following an appointment process run by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), and in accordance with the requirements set down in the Commissioner for Public Appointment’s Code of Practice, John Wotton, Philip Marsden, Phil Evans and Anne Lambert have been appointed. John Wotton and Philip Marsden will take up their roles from April 2014, whilst Phil Evans and Anne Lambert will take up their roles in September 2014. They will chair groups of CMA panel members making decisions on Phase 2 merger inquiries, market investigations and regulatory appeals.
They will join the CMA Panel Chairman, Roger Witcomb and Deputy Chairs, Martin Cave, Simon Polito and Alasdair Smith, who will also chair panel member groups. Roger Witcomb and panel member Jill May, also sit on the CMA Board as non-executives.
Panel members act as independent expert panellists making decisions using their extensive experience of the business and commercial worlds, as well as of competition, law and economics.
In a new move, the CMA is also planning to use the expertise of independent panel members on case decision groups (CDGs), which provide a fresh assessment of the merits of Competition Act cases.
CMA chairman, David Currie said:
I’m delighted to welcome these four new deputy chairs. Their experience and expertise along with those of the existing CC members, will continue the tradition of independent decision making from an external perspective as we move into the CMA. In addition, we also plan to use their skills to provide robust scrutiny of our Competition Act cases which will enhance the capability and credibility of our decision making process in these investigations.
Biographies
John Wotton has been a Panel Member of the Competition Commission since April 2013 and is also a member of Monitor’s Co-operation and Competition Panel. Previously he practised as an EU and competition lawyer in London with Allen & Overy LLP, where he was a partner for 23 years, retiring from the practice in 2012. He also worked in the fields of corporate law, broadcasting law and other regulated industries. He served as President of the Law Society of England & Wales 2011-12, having previously chaired the Society’s EU Committee, and currently chairs the Society’s Education & Training Committee. He is a governor of a school and trustee of a biodiversity NGO and has chaired the audit committee of both charities. He lives in Kent and is active locally with CPRE Protect Kent.
Dr Philip Marsden is a competition lawyer with a particular interest in abuse of dominance, innovation incentives, consumer welfare, and international competition issues. He is Non-executive Director on the Boards of the UK Office of Fair Trading (until 31 March 2014) and the Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities, and is a member of the Legal Services Consumer Panel. He is Senior Research Fellow at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law in London, and Director of its Competition Law Forum. Philip is also Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges, teaching the core LL.M. competition course and is co-founder and General Editor of the European Competition Journal. A competition official early on in his career, for the last 25 years he has specialised in advice to firms in the fast-moving consumer goods and high technology sectors, and advised governments on competition agency effectiveness and decision-making. He lives in Oxford and is a keen marathon runner and rower.
Phil Evans, who was appointed as a Panel Member of the Competition Commission in 2009, has been an independent consultant on consumer, competition and trade issues and senior consultant to Fipra International. He spent a decade at Which? has taught at a number of universities and authored numerous books and articles on trade, competition, intellectual property and shopping. He has provided technical assistance to the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and UNICEF and is on the advisory boards of the American Antitrust Institute and the Loyola University Consumer Antitrust Institute. He lives in Bristol and is an avid local rugby and football fan.
Anne Lambert CMG spent 30 years in the UK Civil Service, focusing on regulation and EU affairs. She was Deputy Director General at Oftel, the UK telecoms regulator from 1998- 2002. From 2003 – 2008 she was the UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU. After leaving Government in 2008, she spent 5 years as Director, European and Government Affairs for NATS (National Air Traffic Services). For NATS she was Chair of ESSP SAS, an international joint venture based in Toulouse. She is currently a member of the Performance Review Body which advises the European Commission on regulation of air traffic management. She is also a Governor of Portsmouth University and a Trustee of The Woodland Trust.
For more information on the CMA, see its home page, follow its Twitter @CMAgovuk or Flickr accounts or visit its LinkedIn page.
Notes for editors
- In April 2014, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will become the UK’s lead competition and consumer body. The CMA will bring together the existing competition and certain consumer protection functions of the Office of Fair Trading and the responsibilities of the Competition Commission, as amended by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. The CMA, which is a non-Ministerial government department, was established on 1 October 2013 and will be taking on responsibility for cases, market studies and other work from 1 April.
- In preparation for the launch of the CMA in April 2014 the CMA appointed a number of panel members. The panel members are currently members of the CC and will serve concurrently as panel members of both the CC and the CMA until 1 April 2014 when the CC will close. As CMA panel members they will continue to serve as members of ongoing inquiries that transfer from the CC to the CMA.
- Media enquiries to be directed to Rory Taylor or Siobhan Allen 020 7271 0242.
- All new appointments as Deputy Chairs will be part-time. From the time of appointment, remuneration for each of the Deputy Chair appointments will be £141,000 pro rata. The Deputy Chairs’ remuneration, and terms and conditions, are determined by the Secretary of State under paragraphs 2 and 5 of Schedule 4 to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.
- All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. In accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if any declared) to be made public. None of the four appointees have undertaken any political activity within the last five years.
- All members of the CMA are subject to the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, which disqualifies holders of scheduled public offices from membership of the House of Commons.