GovWire

Today, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced the appointment of 5 new non-executive directors to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) board: Sarah Chambers, Martin Coleman, Amelia Fletcher OBE, Anne Lambert CMG, and Jonathan Scott. All have now joined the board with the exception of Martin Coleman who joins in October 2017.

Roger Witcomb OBE and Jill May both left the CMA board at the end of their appointment.

CMA Chairman, David Currie, said:

I am delighted to welcome such distinguished colleagues to the CMA board. They will each bring invaluable experience and expertise to the CMAs work in promoting consumer protection, competition and business regulation. I am also delighted that Anne Lambert has accepted the role of Chair of the CMA panel, replacing Roger Witcomb.

Roger has made an enormous contribution to the CMA in its early years and helped to provide continuity from the Competition Commission where he was Chair for almost three years and Jill was a valued member of the board throughout her 3 years of service.

Notes for editors

1. In addition to her appointment to the CMA board, Anne Lambert CMG has also been appointed as Chair of the CMA panel. Anne was first appointed to the CMA as an inquiry chair and panel member in 2014. She is also currently a governor of Portsmouth University and a trustee of The Woodland Trust. Previously she spent 30 years in the UK civil service, focusing on regulation and EU affairs. She was awarded a CMG in 2006 for her work as the UKs Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU.

2. Sarah Chambers was appointed as a panel member to the CMA in 2013. She is an expert in economic regulation and consumer and competition policy. She is also a member of the Qualifications Committee of the Bar Standards Board, panel member of the Judicial Appointments Commission, Chair of the Applications Panel of the Renewable Energy Consumer Code and a member of the Civil Aviation Authority Consumer Panel.

3. Amelia Fletcher was the Chief Economist and Senior Director of Mergers at the OFT. She is now Professor of Competition Policy at the Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) and Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia and a non-executive director at the Financial Conduct Authority and Payment Systems Regulator.

4. Martin Coleman is Global Head of the Antitrust and Competition practice at Norton Rose Fulbright with extensive experience of advising leading businesses and public bodies on competition law issues. He has led many cases before the European Commission and UK competition authorities and has written and spoken on competition law and policy. He is a member of the Council of the Economic and Social Research Council, the Council of the University of Kent and a trustee of Police Now.

5. Jonathan Scott is one of the most highly regarded competition law specialists in London, joining Herbert Smith as a trainee in 1979 before becoming a partner in 1988. He led the firms European Union and Competition practice until 2007 and has chaired the firms Global Partnership Council, responsible for management and strategic decisions since 2010. He retired as chair and as a partner in 2015.

6. The term of appointment for Roger Witcomb OBE as a non-executive director of the CMA ended on 30 September 2016. This coincided with his decision to retire as Chair of the CMA panel. He will continue to support the CMAs work initially as an inquiry chair and thereafter as a panel member until the end of his appointment on 31 March 2017.

7. The CMA is the UKs primary competition and consumer authority. It is an independent non-ministerial government department with responsibility for carrying out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries and enforcing competition and consumer law. For more information see the CMAs homepage.

8. Further information about the CMAs governance and board responsibilities is available on our governance page.

9. For CMA updates, follow us on Twitter @CMAgovuk, Flickr and LinkedIn.

10. Media enquiries should be directed to Neil Kernohan (neil.kernohan@cma.gsi.gov.uk, 020 3738 6170).

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