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CMA chair to be replaced by former Amazon boss

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Government wants regulators to focus on growth

(Adds details throughout, reaction)

By Paul Sandle

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Britain forced

out the chair of its antitrust regulator after he failed to

prioritise its growth agenda, replacing him with a former Amazon

boss, in a signal the UK's attempt to rein in big tech could be

over.

Marcus Bokkerink was replaced at the Competition and

Markets Authority late on Tuesday by Amazon's ( AMZN ) former boss in

Britain, Doug Gurr, on an interim basis, the government said.

Finance minister Rachel Reeves said the government needed

someone who shared its "strategic direction".

"He recognised it was time for him to move on and make way

for somebody who does share the mission and the strategic

direction that this government are taking," she told a Bloomberg

event at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos.

Britain's Labour government, under pressure to reignite the

economy after years of sluggish output, has said it wants

regulators to focus on growth, raising the prospect that it

could favour the biggest and most established companies.

Bokkerink's removal came a day after Donald Trump returned

to the White House, vowing to cut regulation on sectors

including tech as it races to develop Artificial Intelligence.

Some have questioned whether an easing of competition rules

does promote growth however.

Bokkerink said on LinkedIn that the regulator had a duty to

promote competition for the benefit of consumers, and that

markets should not be held back "by a few powerful incumbents

setting the rules for everyone else".

The CMA's chief executive, Sarah Cardell, said Bokkerink had

"tirelessly championed consumers, competition and a level

playing field for business".

Reeves had ordered the CMA and other British regulators to

"tear down the barriers hindering businesses and refocus their

efforts on promoting growth" in a meeting with regulatory bosses

last week.

The CMA's last clash with a U.S. tech giant was over

Microsoft's ( MSFT ) $69 billion acquisition of "Call of Duty" maker

Activision Blizzard in 2023, and the regulator came off worse.

It blocked the deal but then tore up its own rule book to

approve the case following a furious reaction from Microsoft ( MSFT )

bosses who lobbied the government at the highest level.

SUPERCHARGING GROWTH

After being singled out by Prime Minister Keir Starmer for

holding back growth, the CMA said in November that it would

focus on "truly problematic mergers" and rethink its approach to

allow more deals to go ahead.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, in announcing the

change at the top of the regulator, said he wanted to go

further, and see the CMA "supercharging the economy with

pro-business decisions that will drive prosperity and growth,

putting more money in people's pockets".

He said Gurr would bring a "wealth of experience" in the

technology sector to the CMA.

Gurr's appointment comes after the regulator stepped up its

scrutiny of Big Tech by establishing its Digital Markets Unit.

The unit, which gained new powers this month, is tasked with

ensuring that the biggest tech companies, such as Amazon

, Google, Meta, Apple ( AAPL ) and

Microsoft ( MSFT ), do not abuse their dominant market

positions.

Amazon, under Gurr's leadership, was investigated by the CMA

over its stake in food delivery company Deliveroo. The regulator

cleared the investment in 2020.

(Additional reporting by Muvija M in London, writing by Paul

Sandle in London, Editing by Kate Holton and Christina Fincher)