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Doug Gurr, the former head of Amazon UK, has been appointed by the government as interim chair of the Competition and Markets Authority.
Max Mambi/Indigo | Getty Images
LONDON — Britain’s competition watchdog has appointed a former top Amazon executive as its new chairman after Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused him of stifling growth.
Competition and Markets Authority announced Late on Tuesday, Doug Gur, previously head of Amazon UK and president of Amazon China, will act as chairman of Amazon, replacing Markus Boeckerinck.
The move follows a meeting between CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell and other regulators with UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves to provide ideas on how to stimulate growth. Regulators were ordered to “break down barriers that hinder business and refocus their efforts on promoting growth.”
Cordell praised Bokerink for his leadership since taking over as chairman in 2022, telling CNBC on Wednesday: “He has been a tireless advocate for consumers, competition and a level playing field for business, and has a strong commitment to openness and engagement with stakeholders across the UK.”
“The CMA plays an important role in supporting the government’s growth mission. I welcome the appointment of Doug Goure as the new interim chairman of the CMA and look forward to working closely with him as we promote growth, opportunity and prosperity for the UK,” she said. added via email comments.
The government wants regulators like the CMA to “overload the economy with pro-business decisions that will promote prosperity and growth, putting more money in people’s pockets,” UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement.
Reeves said the decision to replace Bokkerink was made because the CMA should be led by someone who shares the government’s “strategic direction”.
“He recognized that it was time to move on and give way to someone who shares the mission and the strategic direction that this government is taking,” she said at a Bloomberg event on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. , Switzerland.
Drive 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 — takes growth as seriously as this room does,” suggesting job dissatisfaction CMA.
The UK has faced wider criticism from tech executives and investors for a range of regulatory decisions, including intervention in Microsoft absorption video game publisher Activision Blizzard and its decision to force Meta Facebook to get rid of Giphy’s GIF database.
“The announcement of a new CMA chair can’t be pure coincidence as it comes at the same time as the UK government is beating the drums of its growth agenda and calling for regulators to be held accountable for their own pro-growth policies,” he said. Alex Hafner, Fladgate Competition Partner.
“Mr Gur has been appointed on an interim basis, which suggests that it is not a matter of succession planning, but more of a response to current events. His background is also unashamedly commercial, unlike his predecessor’s consultant,” Hafner added.
Gurr’s appointment as CMA chairman comes after the regulator was given new powers to regulate big tech firms under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer (DMCC) Act, which seeks to prevent anti-competitive behavior in digital markets.
It can designate large companies that have significant market power in a particular digital activity as “Strategic Market Status”. The CMA now has the power to introduce changes to prevent potential anti-competitive behavior from any firm granted strategic market status.
