UK taps former Amazon boss to permanently run the country’s competition watchdog
The UK government has selected Doug Gurr, the former head of Amazon UK, as the preferred candidate to serve as the permanent chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the country’s key competition and consumer watchdog.
Speaking on Monday (23 February), Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said that Gurr will take on the full five-year term following an open competition for the role. The appointment is subject to a pre-appointment hearing before Parliament’s Business and Trade Select Committee, scheduled for Tuesday.
Who is Doug Gurr?
Gurr (61) brings a wealth of experience from the tech and business sectors to one of the UK’s most influential regulatory positions. He served as Amazon’s country manager for the UK from 2016 to 2020, after joining the company in 2011 and previously serving as president of Amazon China from 2014 to 2016.
Before Amazon, Gurr held senior roles including board director at Asda-Walmart, partner at McKinsey & Company, founder and CEO of internet startup Blueheath, and teaching positions in mathematics and computing at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. He holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in semantic frameworks and a degree from the University of Cambridge.
More recently, Gurr has been director of the Natural History Museum in London since December 2020 and chair of the Alan Turing Institute.
His interim tenure at the CMA has been marked by significant reforms aimed at making the regulator more business-friendly and growth-oriented.
In partnership with CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell, Gurr has focused on improving the pace, predictability, proportionality, and processes of merger investigations, changes largely welcomed by businesses amid the Labour government’s push for economic growth and its Industrial Strategy.
“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,” said Kyle.
Increasing focus on big tech
The CMA enforces competition law, reviews mergers, conducts market studies, and protects consumers across the UK economy. The appointment comes as the regulator balances aggressive enforcement, including ongoing probes into big tech players like cloud providers, with the government’s emphasis on reducing regulatory burdens to support investment and innovation.
Last month, the Department for Business and Trade launched a consultation on further improvements to the UK’s competition regime, including faster merger reviews and enhanced consumer protections.
Gurr replaces former chair Marcus Bokkerink, whose tenure ended amid reported tensions over the watchdog’s strategic direction and alignment with government growth priorities.
The formal appointment is expected to follow the parliamentary hearing, positioning Gurr to guide the CMA through a pivotal period for UK competition policy.
