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Doug Gurr, the former head of Amazon UK, has been appointed chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority.
David M. Bennett | Getty Images for Amazon
LONDON — Britain’s competition regulator has tapped a former Amazon executive as its new chair after facing accusations from Prime Minister Keir Starmer of stifling growth.
The Competition and Markets Authority announced Late Tuesday, Doug Gurr, who was previously country manager for Amazon UK and president of Amazon China, would serve as its interim chair replacing Marcus Bokkerink.
The move follows a meeting between CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell and other regulators with UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves to provide ideas on how to stimulate growth. Regulators are said to “break down barriers that hinder businesses and refocus their efforts to promote growth.”
Cardell thanked Bokkerink for his leadership since taking on the role of chairman in 2022, telling CNBC on Wednesday: “He has tirelessly supported consumers, competition and a level playing field for businesses, and is strongly committed to to the openness and engagement of interested parties in the UK”.
“The CMA has a critical role to play in supporting the government’s growth mission. I welcome the appointment of Doug Gurr as the new interim chair of the CMA and look forward to working closely with him as we guide the growth, l “opportunities and prosperity for the United Kingdom”, she. added via email comments.
The government wants to see regulators like the CMA “supercharging the economy with pro-business decisions that drive prosperity and growth, putting more money in people’s pockets”, the Minister of Business and Commerce of the United Kingdom’s Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement.
Reeves said the decision to replace Bokkerink was made because the CMA needed to be led by someone who shared the government’s “strategic direction”.
“He recognized that it was time for him to move on and make way for someone who shares the mission and the strategic direction that this government is taking,” he said, speaking at a Bloomberg event on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. . , Switzerland.
Push to take growth “seriously”
Last year, Prime Minister Starmer told investors he wanted to make sure “every regulator in this country – especially our economic and competition regulators – take growth as seriously as this room”, suggesting a dissatisfaction with the work of the CMA.
The UK has faced wider criticism from tech executives and investors for a number of regulatory decisions, including an intervention in Microsoft pick up of the video game publisher Activision Blizzard and its decision to force of Meta Facebook at arranged Giphy GIF database.
“The announcement of the new chairman of the CMA cannot be a mere coincidence, coming as the UK Government is beating the drum for its growth agenda and calling regulators to account of their own policies to stimulate growth,” he said. Alex Haffner, a fellow competitor at Fladgate.
“Mr. Gurr was appointed on an interim basis which suggests that this is not about succession planning and much more a reaction to current events. His background is also unashamedly commercial as opposed to consulting one of his predecessor,” added Haffner.
Gurr’s appointment as CMA chair comes after the regulator received new powers to regulate big tech firms under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act (DMCC), which seeks to prevent anti-competitive behavior in digital markets.
It can designate large companies that have a significant amount of market power in a certain digital activity as having “Strategic Market Status”. The CMA now has the power to impose changes to prevent potential anti-competitive behavior from any firm that is given Strategic Market Status.
