Press release

Minister appoints new Competition Appeal Tribunal members

Minister for Competition, Margot James MP, appoints 7 new members to the Tribunal’s panel of ordinary members.

The new members are:

  • Mrs Jane Burgess
  • Mr Michael Cutting
  • Mr Paul Dollman
  • Mr Tim Frazer
  • Professor Robin Mason
  • Mr Derek Ridyard
  • Mr Timothy Sawyer CBE

Notes to editors

  1. Ordinary members are selected for their expertise in law, business, accountancy, economics and other related fields. Prior to the making of these appointments, the Tribunal’s panel of ordinary members consisted of 26 members (11 of whose terms of appointment will end on 3 January 2019).

  2. The new members are appointed for 8 years and paid according to the amount of time that they spend working for the Tribunal, based on a daily rate of £400. The appointments carry no right of pension, gratuity or allowance on their termination.

  3. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity to be made public. None of the new members are politically active.

  4. Although these appointments do not come within the remit of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA), they have been made following OCPA best practice.

  5. The Tribunal is a specialist judicial body with cross-disciplinary expertise in law, economics, business and accountancy. It consists of the President, Chairmen, who are appointed by the Lord Chancellor, and the panel of ordinary members. Cases are heard before a Tribunal consisting of 3 members: either the President or a member of the panel of Chairmen and two ordinary members.

About the new members

Jane Burgess

Jane Burgess has been with the John Lewis Partnership since 1993 first starting as staff and training manager and her last position was as Partners’ Counsellor on the board which she relinquished in October 2017. Her current appointments are as a Lay Member on the House of Commons Committee on Standards, a Commissioner for the Civil Service Commission and a member of the Business Advisory Board at Surrey Business School. Her appointment as an ordinary member will commence in February 2018.

Michael Cutting

Michael Cutting has been a partner of Linklaters LLP since 1995. He has specialised in UK and EU competition law and the law relating to the economic regulation of utilities since qualifying as a solicitor in 1988. His appointment as an ordinary member will commence in October 2018.

Paul Dollman

Paul Dollman is now retired and is currently Audit Committee chairman for Wilmington PLC, Verastar and Arqiva. He is also a non-executive director of Scottish Amicable, a member of the Audit Committee of the National Library of Scotland, honorary teaching fellow at the University of St Andrews Business School and Governor of the Edinburgh Academy of St Leonards School. His most recent role before he retired was group finance director at John Menzies PLC between 2002 and 2013. His appointment as an ordinary member will commence in February 2018.

Tim Frazer

Tim Frazer was a partner at Arnold & Porter LLP (now Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP) from 1999, during which time he advised on both conduct and merger cases in the EU and UK, and on compliance and audit processes in various jurisdictions worldwide that have adopted the EU approach to competition law. He was previously at Newcastle University, between 1980 and 1997, as Lecturer in Law, Dean of Law and Professor of Law. He is the author of a number of textbooks on competition law. His appointment as an ordinary member will commence in February 2018.

Robin Mason

Professor Robin Mason is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) at the University of Birmingham. He was previously Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean (Business School) of the University of Exeter, as well as Professor of Economics. His area of expertise is industrial organisation in general, and in particular the economics of regulation and competition. He has provided expert advice for a number of regulators, in the UK and internationally, on competition matters and spectrum auctions and has advised the Prime Minister of Mauritius on competition legislation. His appointment as an ordinary member will commence in February 2018.

Derek Ridyard

Derek Ridyard is one of the founders of RBB Economics LLP. His active involvement at RBB will cease when his appointment as an ordinary member commences in February 2018. He has 30 years’ experience working in private practice specialising as an expert on the economics of competition, trade, regulation and intellectual property. He holds a BSc in Economics from Southampton University and an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics. Prior to co-funding RBB Economics, he worked for 15 years in the competition practice at economic consultants NERA, and for five years in the UK Government Economic Service, including spells working as an economist at the Office of Fair Trading and the Department of Trade and Industry.

Timothy Sawyer

Timothy Sawyer is an executive with expertise in turnaround, start-up and growth opportunities having both a UK and international perspective. He is currently Chief Investment Officer at Innovate UK and was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Start-Up Loans and Chairman of Folk2Folk. He was awarded a CBE for services to Government and small business in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2016. He has been Executive Director of Cahoot and Ivobank and Non-Executive Director of Banque Dubois, China PNR, Visa UK, Link, Eftpos UK, Card Payment Group. His appointment as an ordinary member will commence in February 2018.

Published 8 December 2017