Doug Gore, Amazon's former UK boss, has been appointed head of the Competition and Markets Authority.
David M. Bennett | Getty Images for Amazon
LONDON – Britain's competition regulator has appointed a former top Amazon executive as its new chief after facing accusations from Prime Minister Keir Starmer of stifling growth.
Competition and Markets Authority Announce Late Tuesday, Doug Gore, who was previously Amazon's UK country manager and head of Amazon China, will serve as its interim president, replacing Markus Bukerinck.
The move follows a meeting between CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell and other regulators with UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves to present ideas on how to stimulate growth. Regulators were asked to “remove barriers to business and refocus their efforts on promoting growth.”
Cardell thanked Bukerinck for his leadership since taking over as president in 2022, telling CNBC on Wednesday: “He has tirelessly championed consumers, competition and a level playing field in business, as well as an unwavering commitment to openness and stakeholder engagement across the UK.”
“The CMA has a crucial role to play in supporting the government's growth mission. I welcome the appointment of Doug Gore as the new interim Chair of the CMA and look forward to working closely with him as we drive growth, opportunity and prosperity in the UK.” Added via email comments.
British Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement that the government wants to see regulators such as the CMA “charge the economy with pro-business decisions that will drive prosperity and growth, and put more money in people’s pockets.”
Reeves said the decision to replace Bookrink was taken 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 room for someone who would share in the mission and the strategic direction that this government is taking,” she said, speaking at a Bloomberg event on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos. , Switzerland.
Pressure to take growth 'seriously'
Last year, Prime Minister Starmer told investors that he wanted to make sure that “every regulator in this country – particularly our economic and competition regulators – takes growth as seriously as this chamber does”, signaling dissatisfaction with the work of the CMA. .
The UK has faced wider criticism from technology executives and investors over a number of regulatory decisions, including interference in… Microsoft Seizure From video game publisher Activision Blizzard and its decision to force dead Facebook for Abstraction GIF Giphy database.
“The announcement of the new head of the CMA cannot be a coincidence, as it comes at the same time as the UK government is beating the drums of its own growth agenda and calling on regulators to consider their own policies on stimulating growth,” he said. Alex Hafner, Competition Partner at Fladgate.
“Mr. Gore was appointed on an interim basis, suggesting that this is not about succession planning but rather a reaction to current events. His background is also unabashedly business, in contrast to his predecessor's consulting background,” Hafner added.
Gore's appointment as head of the CMA comes after the regulator gained new powers to regulate big technology companies under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Code (DMCC), which seeks to prevent anti-competitive behavior in digital markets.
It can classify large companies with a significant amount of market power in a particular digital activity as having “strategic market status.” The CMA now has the power to impose changes to prevent potential anti-competitive behavior from any company granted strategic market status.
