Interviews and Analysis

Nearly a year into his role as chief economist at the Netherlands’ Authority for Consumers and Markets, Paul de Bijl talked to GCR about measuring the harm caused to competition by political lobbying, the role his team played in the agency’s high-profile Apple case and whether the enforcer is overstepping its mandate with its sustainability work.

27 March 2023

A year after being appointed chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Gina Cass-Gottlieb spoke with GCR about upcoming merger control reforms, deciding which sectors need targeted regulation or antitrust enforcement, and the impact of criminal enforcement on a recent uptick in leniency applications.

17 March 2023

Olha Pishchanska, head of Ukraine’s Antimonopoly Committee (AMCU), has faced unthinkable personal and professional challenges since Russia invaded the country a year ago. Ahead of that unwelcome anniversary, she spoke to GCR about the importance of competition law in rebuilding the national economy and adjusting to a new reality that has seen colleagues join the front line and others flee abroad.

20 February 2023

Antitrust powerhouse Dan Wall retired from Latham & Watkins earlier this year, but he is not riding off into the sunset just yet. In an interview with GCR USA, Wall discussed his reservations about Biden-era antitrust policy and his journey from Ma Bell to politicians raising hell about his new employer, Live Nation.

17 February 2023

Liza Lovdahl Gormsen is the proposed class representative in a blockbuster claim against Meta, which seeks £2.3 billion on behalf of 45 million UK consumers that allege they lost out because of its unlawful exploitation of their personal data. Following a recent certification hearing before the Competition Appeal Tribunal, she spoke to GCR about criticism of the claim and the future of data and sustainability-related class actions.

14 February 2023

As head of the Federal Trade Commission’s office of international affairs from its inception until his retirement last year, Randy Tritell played a key role in shaping antitrust enforcement around the globe. Tritell spoke to GCR USA about improving cooperation between international enforcers and how abandoning the consumer welfare standard in the US could ultimately lead to a greater disconnect.

09 February 2023

Tim Wu stepped down as President Biden’s primary antitrust advisor earlier this month after two years in the role. The Columbia Law School professor spoke to GCR USA about the “plague” of non-competes, why technology-focused antitrust legislation failed to reach the finish line during his tenure and how the White House took on a bigger role in competition policy while maintaining the independence of the US antitrust agencies.

24 January 2023

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority established a dedicated data analytics unit in 2018, tapping Stefan Hunt to build the team from scratch. Ahead of starting a new role at Keystone Strategy on Tuesday, Hunt spoke to GCR about the challenges of growing the CMA’s 50-strong data group, its role in some of the agency’s most important probes and how the sophisticated technology his team built is changing enforcement.

23 January 2023

In effect since last January, the UK’s National Security and Investment Act has overhauled the country’s foreign investment control rules. Arnold & Porter partner John Schmidt and counsel Ludovica Pizzetti shed light on an opaque regime that has already caused five deals to be blocked and another nine to be remedied in its first year.

23 January 2023

Kathleen Foote recently stepped down after two decades as California’s top antitrust enforcer. In a conversation with GCR USA, she discussed highlights of her 35-plus years of service for the Golden State – in which she helped cement the independence of state attorneys general and develop the Cartwright Act – and busted some misconceptions about state enforcement.

12 January 2023