News story: New non-executive director and panel members appointed to the Competition and Markets Authority board

Business Secretary Greg Clark has appointed Cynthia Dubin as a non-executive director and Paul Hughes, Robin Foster, Colleen Keck, Karthik Subramanya, Shrinivas Honap and Maria da Cunha as panel members to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

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.

Non-executive directors of the CMA Board play a key role in providing leadership and direction to the organisation, working with the chair and chief executive, responsible for setting the organisation’s strategic direction, developing priorities and monitoring performance against its objectives. Members are appointed to the CMA Board for up to 5 years.

Panel members join independent groups to make decisions on ‘phase 2’ merger and market investigations and on regulatory appeals. Members are appointed to the CMA Panel for up to 8 years.

The new members appointed by the Secretary of State are:

Cynthia Dubin

Cynthia Dubin is Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee of Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. and chief financial officer of Pivot Power LLP in the UK. Cynthia has previously held senior positions at Edison Mission Energy and JKX Oil & Gas plc. Her role as a board member commenced in January 2019.

Paul Hughes

Paul is a former partner of international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, and has specialised in competition law and regulation for some 30 years. His appointment as a panel member commences in February 2019.

Robin Foster

Robin Foster is a non-executive member of the Content Board at media regulator Ofcom, and of the Advertising Advisory Committee at the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). He was previously Strategy Partner at Ofcom and led the strategy and competition teams at the BBC. His appointment as a panel member commences in February 2019.

Colleen Keck

Colleen Keck is currently General Counsel and Company Secretary at Parkinson’s UK and Deputy Chair of the Copyright Tribunal. Prior to that she was a partner at international law firm Allen & Overy LLP for over 20 years. Her appointment as a panel member commences in February 2019.

Karthik Subramanya

Karthik Subramanya is currently Senior Advisor with Boston Consulting Group. He is also a board member of Scottish Enterprise and Creative Scotland. His appointment as a panel member commences in February 2019.

Shrinivas Honap

Shrinivas Honap’s roles include a non-executive directorship at the British Transport Police Authority, where he is Chair of the Pensions Committee. He has held senior roles in Capita Plc, Vodafone and Egg Financial Service. His appointment as a panel member commences in April 2019.

Maria da Cunha

Maria da Cunha is currently a non-executive director of De La Rue plc and a trustee of Community Integrated Care. She was previously General Counsel and Director of HR at British Airways plc. Her appointment as a panel member commences in February 2019.