CMA Chair Doug Gurr Addresses UK Competition Conference on Delivering Predictable Regulation
Doug Gurr, described in a gov.uk speech page as the CMA's Chair, delivered a keynote address titled "Delivering predictable regulation in an unpredictable world" at the International Chambers of Commerce, UK Competition Conference on 16 September 2026. The gov.uk snippet identifies Gurr by name and as the CMA's Chair in the context of this speech, but the full text of the address is not available in the corpus. The title of the speech signals that predictability of regulatory outcomes is a live concern for the Competition and Markets Authority at a moment when the CMA is simultaneously managing active merger inquiries, including its Phase 1 review of McCormick's anticipated acquisition of Unilever's foods business.
Why this matters
A keynote by the CMA's Chair at a major competition conference on regulatory predictability is a marker of the regulator's current public positioning. The timing, coinciding with an active Phase 1 merger inquiry and a busy enforcement period, suggests the CMA is conscious of how businesses and advisers perceive its decision-making. The corpus does not provide the speech's substantive content, so no further analytical claims can be made.
On the Ground
Competition lawyers and in-house counsel at companies facing CMA scrutiny will monitor any published speech text for signals on how the CMA intends to exercise discretion. Trainees should locate and read the full speech once published on gov.uk, flag key passages to supervising partners, and update any relevant client regulatory-risk memos.
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