Business Secretary Greg Clark has today (Thursday 27 September) confirmed appointments to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) panel.

The CMA has subsequently appointed Martin Coleman as an Inquiry Chair and Panel Chair. As 1 of 4 Inquiry Chairs, he will be responsible for chairing groups of CMA panel members making decisions on Phase 2 merger inquiries, market investigations and regulatory appeals.

The Panel Chair supports the effective operation of the inquiry process, including appointing members to inquiry panels. Mr Coleman takes over the role from Anne Lambert, whose term of office ended on 31 August 2018.

Currently a non-executive director of the CMA board – a role in which he will continue – Mr Coleman is also Deputy Chair for the Office for Students, the regulator for higher education in England, and a member of the CMA Remuneration Committee. He was formerly Global Head of Competition at an international law firm. His experience and expertise will aid the CMA’s work in promoting competition for the benefit of consumers, businesses and the economy.

Kirstin Baker, who was recently appointed as a non-executive director and panel member by the Business Secretary, has also been confirmed by the CMA as a further Inquiry Chair. Ms Baker had a long career in the civil service and was most recently HM Treasury’s Finance and Commercial Director.

The CMA is a non-ministerial department and the UK’s primary competition and consumer authority. It has responsibility for carrying out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries, and enforcing competition and consumer law.