UK appoints ex-Amazon executive Doug Gurr as interim chair of antitrust body

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has a new interim chairman: former Amazon executive Doug Gurr (pictured above).

The announcement comes as the U.K. seeks to position itself as a pro-growth, pro-tech nation by cutting red-tape and bureaucracy, with artificial intelligence (AI) taking center stage. The country is also nearing the end of a long investigation into the domestic cloud services market that had Amazon firmly in the CMA’s crosshairs.

In its announcement on Tuesday, the government leaned into Gurr’s past at Amazon as a means to “boost growth and support the economy,” noting that he will “bring a wealth of experience” from his work in the sector.

“This Government has a clear Plan for Change — to boost growth for businesses and communities across the U.K.,” Jonathan Reynolds, the U.K.’s secretary of state for business and trade, said in a statement. “As we’ve set out, we want to see regulators including the CMA supercharging the economy with pro-business decisions that will drive prosperity and growth, putting more money in people’s pockets.”

The big tech factor

Gurr joined Amazon’s U.K division in 2011, initially as VP of its “hardlines” division, which focused on products such as gardening and toys. He transitioned into the role of country manager for Amazon’s China business in 2014, before moving back to head up U.K. operations in 2016. Gurr left Amazon in 2020 to become the director of the Natural History Museum.

Outgoing chair Marcus Bokkerink, who has more of a consulting than commercial background, held his post for less than three years, a relatively short tenure as the position typically lasts up to five years. However, reports indicate that chancellor Rachel Reeves was underwhelmed following a meeting with various U.K. regulators last week, prompting a changing of the guard.

It’s worth noting that although Gurr’s appointment is on an interim basis, the CMA’s CEO Sarah Cardell was also initially appointed as interim CEO back in 2022 before she moved into the role permanently.

That’s not to say this is what will happen with Gurr, but it gives a clear indication about the type of person the government wants to see chairing the country’s antitrust regulator — a body currently investigating big tech firms for all manner of alleged contraventions.

Alex Haffner, competition partner at law firm Fladgate, says it’s no coincidence that Gurr’s appointment has come at a time when the U.K. is “banging the drum for its growth agenda.” He also highlighted that Gurr’s background is “unashamedly commercial” compared to his predecessor.

Over and above that, however, this appointment raises questions about how the CMA might approach its enforcement of rules around big tech across verticals.

“What stakeholders will now be assessing is how the new appointment translates into the CMA’s approach to enforcement,” Haffner said in a statement to TechCrunch. “Recent signs are that it has taken heed of criticism of previous decisions and is perhaps more willing to be flexible — the recent Vodafone / Three clearance decision being a case in point. However, the new Chair also takes on the role at a time when the CMA has taken on significant new powers under the Digital Markets Competition and Consumer Act, particularly in relation to its oversight of big tech, meaning the CMA will likely become more activist, albeit giving considerable attention as to how to enforce in a way which best stimulates competition and therefore economic growth.”

The Open Cloud Coalition, a Google-backed lobby group launched back in October to curry favor with European lawmakers, “congratulated” Gurr on his appointment as interim chair. However, Nicky Stewart, senior advisor to the Open Cloud Coalition, urged the regulator not to lose sight of its ongoing investigation into the cloud services market, which counts Amazon as the runaway market leader.

“As the CMA’s cloud market investigation enters a critical phase, we urge the regulator to stay the course and take decisive action to create a fairer, more competitive cloud market that benefits businesses, consumers, and the wider digital economy,” Stewart said in a statement issued to TechCrunch. “The cloud industry can only flourish when there is a level playing field, and as outlined in our position paper, meaningful intervention is essential to unlocking innovation and investment across the sector.”