The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced three senior appointments to help lead preparations for new digital markets legislation.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act has given the CMA an obligation to promote competition through a new digital markets competition regime.

Cat Batchelor, Tania Van den Brande and Euan MacMillan will lead the CMA’s preparations as it gets ready for the new regime, which is expected to come into force later this year.

Batchelor is an existing director at the CMA and has been leading work to prepare for the new regime. She previously led the Digital Markets Taskforce, providing advice to the government on the design and implementation of pro-competition measures prior to the introduction of the DMCC legislation. Before joining the CMA, Batchelor worked in a variety of roles at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) focusing on competition and innovation in financial services.

Van den Brande will join the CMA from Ofcom later this year. In her current position she leads the organisation’s work in digital markets, including its recent market study into cloud services, as well as supporting the implementation of the new Online Safety Act.

MacMillan is an existing director at the CMA and has been responsible for leading work to prepare for the new digital regime.

He has previously worked in various countries including Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo on economic analysis, programming, and policy.

“This is a genuinely exciting time to work at the CMA as we drive forward preparations for the new pro-competition digital markets regime,” said Will Hayter, executive director for Digital Markets at the CMA. “They are part of a brilliant team we are building to oversee a new, targeted regime – ensuring we will be best placed to tackle harmful practices and deliver positive outcomes for people, businesses and the UK economy.”

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