The chair of the competitors watchdog has been compelled to step down after an intervention by Labour ministers, as they attempt to ship a pro-growth message to companies gathered on the World Financial Discussion board assembly in Davos.
The enterprise division confirmed that the Competitors and Markets Authority chair, Marcus Bokkerink, was stepping down on Tuesday night, simply two years after being appointed. Most CMA chairs are anticipated to serve for as much as 5 years.
One authorities supply mentioned it was no coincidence that Bokkerink was pushed out days after the CMA was hauled into Downing Road for a gathering with the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the enterprise secretary, Jonathan Reynolds.
The enterprise division mentioned that Reynolds had “accepted” Bokkerink’s resignation, and had appointed former Amazon UK boss Doug Gurr will as CMA chair within the interim “in a bid to spice up progress and assist the economic system”.
The selection of the previous Amazon boss comes because the CMA launches a collection of investigations into expertise firms underneath a brand new digital markets competitors regime that got here into power within the UK on 1 January 2025.
It permits the UK authorities to problem “conduct necessities” to expertise firms, a number of of which have achieved dominant market positions.
The primary investigation, introduced this month, is into Google, with additional probes into competitors circumstances set to be introduced into different companies within the coming months.
The federal government will set out plans for recruiting a brand new everlasting chair “within the coming weeks”.
In an announcement launched on Tuesday night time, Reynolds mentioned: “This authorities has a transparent plan for change – to spice up progress for companies and communities throughout the UK. As we’ve set out, we wish to see regulators together with the CMA supercharging the economic system with pro-business selections that can drive prosperity and progress, placing extra money in individuals’s pockets.”
The enterprise division mentioned that Reynolds had “accepted” Bokkerink’s resignation and thanked him for his work, together with throughout the price of residing disaster. It added that the federal government would quickly start consulting on “new growth-focused strategic steer to the CMA”.
It’s understood that Bokkerink’s departure is supposed to ship a pro-growth sign to companies, as Reeves and Reynolds attend Davos to fulfill world enterprise leaders.
The pair will use their journey to the Swiss ski resort to make a recent push for brand new funding, by emphasising the UK’s political and financial stability and selling the federal government as pro-business.
They’re internet hosting a panel on Wednesday morning and Reeves is because of maintain conferences with enterprise leaders together with the JPMorgan Chase chief govt, Jamie Dimon, the Goldman Sachs boss, David Solomon, and Jo Taylor, the president of large Canadian pensions fund the Ontario Academics’ Pension Plan.
The CMA was one in every of 17 regulators ordered to place ahead proposals on how one can ease the burden on companies and assist spur financial progress. Final week’s assembly was the primary in a collection of check-ins with regulators, through which ministers reviewed their plans and progress.
The Labour authorities has been heaping strain on UK watchdogs to do extra to assist the economic system, amid accusations that their work has been a barrier to inward funding.
The CMA was amongst regulators placed on discover in October, when Keir Starmer used a speech on the authorities’s funding summit to vow that he would “rip out the paperwork that blocks funding” and guarantee each regulator within the UK “takes progress as critically as this room does”.
The watchdog was additionally publicly criticised in 2023 for initially blocking the takeover of the gaming developer Activision Blizzard by the US expertise firm Microsoft.
CMA’s chief govt, Sarah Cardell, thanked Bokkerink for his work, saying he had “tirelessly championed customers, competitors and a stage taking part in subject for enterprise, in addition to being steadfastly dedicated to openness and stakeholder engagement throughout the UK”.
Cardell added: “I welcome the appointment of Doug Gurr because the CMA’s new interim chair and look ahead to working intently with him.”
The enterprise division mentioned Bokkerink “will proceed to make a contribution to public life in a brand new management position, the small print of which might be introduced in the end”.
