- Business Secretary announces Gurr as his choice
of candidate to continue as Competition and Markets
Authority (CMA) chair
- Subject to parliamentary hearing, Gurr will oversee
the CMA for the next five years
- Comes following more than a year of reforms to
the CMA to boost business confidence and predictability
to grow the economy and deliver our Industrial Strategy.
Following a series of major reforms to boost growth and
business confidence delivered in partnership with CMA Chief
Executive Sarah Cardell, Doug Gurr has been announced as the
preferred candidate to remain as chair of the Competition and
Markets Authority (CMA).
Gurr was appointed as interim chair of the CMA in
January 2025 and has now been selected to complete a full
five-year term following an open competition for the
role.
Following a hugely successful career as a tech entrepreneur and
senior business leader, Doug has held board and leadership roles
in the third and public sectors, and has an impressive
record of driving forward change and improving performance.
Over the past 12 months, Doug has worked with Chief
Executive Sarah Cardell,
to transform the CMA, by improving the pace,
predictability, proportionality and process of their
merger investigations – which has been welcomed by
businesses.
Business and Trade Secretary said:
“Under Doug Gurr's leadership as Interim Chair,
the CMA is playing a key role
in delivering the government's pro-growth agenda,
ensuring the UK is a place where businesses can grow and
invest with confidence.
“I look forward to Doug leading the delivery of
the CMA's three-year strategy to drive economic
growth and improve household prosperity.”
Interim Chair of the CMA Doug
Gurr said:
“The government have been clear in their commitment to
delivering economic growth and improving household prosperity. I
have enjoyed my time at the CMA and can see a clear
contribution we can make here through promoting competition and
protecting consumers. It would be both a pleasure and a privilege
to continue this important work.”
The CMA is the UK's competition and consumer agency,
promoting competition for the benefit of consumers, businesses
and the UK economy and plays a crucial role in
supporting the government's growth mission, particularly in
priority sectors for the Industrial Strategy.
Last month, DBT launched a consultation to look into further
measures to help improve the competition regime in the UK.
Proposals will look at streamlining review times, greater
certainty on when mergers will be subject to investigation as
well as increased powers to support consumers further.
Free and fair competition and effective consumer protection
support growth by putting money back in people's pockets and
driving forward innovation, productivity, investment.
It comes off the back of the most recent GDP figures, which
showed that the UK was the fastest-growing economy in Europe.
This is down to the economic plan that has been delivered so far,
by building a stronger, more secure economy; cutting the
cost of living; cutting the national debt; and creating
the conditions for growth and investment.
The Business and Trade Secretary has invited the
Commons Business and Trade Committee to hold a
pre-appointment hearing and to report on Doug
Gurr's suitability for the post.
Notes to editors:
- Pre-appointment hearings enable select committees to take
evidence from preferred candidates for major public appointments
before they are appointed.
- Hearings are in public and involve the select committee
publishing a report setting out their views on the candidate's
suitability for the post.
- Pre-appointment hearings are non-binding, but ministers will
consider the committee's views before deciding whether
to proceed with an appointment.
