Big Tech acquisitions and innovation: competitive effects and EU merger control

Bruno Liebhaberg is Executive Chairman of the think tank Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE) which he founded in 2010.

From 2018 to 2021, he was also the first Chairman of the European Union Observatory on the Online Platform Economy. He is also an Honorary Professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles’ Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (SBS-EM ULB) where he taught from 1979 to 2018. Earlier in his career, he advised former European Commission President Jacques Delors on industry and R&D matters related to the completion of the EU Single Market.

He holds a Master’s in management sciences from SBS-EM ULB and a Ph.D. in Industrial Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

¹Also representing B.LIEBHABERG S.A., Director General

²Member of the Strategic Committee

Pierre Régibeau is Chief Competition Economist at the European Commission’s DG Competition.

He has worked on numerous cases involving mergers and competition inquiries both at the European Commission and for national competition authorities. In the last few years, his work has mostly focused on network industries and high-tech industries.

Dr Régibeau has written extensively on intellectual property rights with an emphasis on the interface between IPRs and competition policy.

From 2006 to 2011, he was a member of the Economic Advisory Group on Competition Policy, an expert group advising DG Competition.

Marc Bourreau is a Academic Co-Director at CERRE and Professor of Economics at Télécom Paris (Institut Polytechnique de Paris). He is affiliated with the interdisciplinary institute for innovation (i3) for his research.

His research focuses on competition policy and regulation, digital markets, and telecommunications.

Marc holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Paris Panthéon Assas.

Alexandre de Streel is the Academic Director of the digital research programme at the Brussels think-tank Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE), professor of European law at the University of Namur and visiting professor at the College of Europe (Bruges) and SciencesPo Paris. He sits in the scientific committees of the Knight-Georgetown Institute (US), the European University Institute-Centre for a Digital Society (Italy) and the Mannheim Centre for Competition and Innovation (Germany).

His main research areas are regulation and competition policy in the digital economy (telecommunications, platforms and data) as well as the legal issues raised by the developments of artificial intelligence. He regularly advises the European Union and international organisations on digital regulation.

Previously, Alexandre held visiting positions at New York University Law School, the European University Institute in Florence, Panthéon-Assas (Singapore campus), Barcelona Graduate School of Economics and the University of Louvain. He also worked for the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, the Belgian Permanent Representation to the European Union, and the European Commission. He has also been the chair of the expert group on the online platform economy, advising the European Commission.

Professor Martin Peitz is a former CERRE Research Fellow and Professor of Economics at the University of Mannheim. He is also a Director of the Mannheim Centre for Competition and Innovation.

His policy research focuses on digital markets, regulation, and competition economics.

Martin holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Bonn.

Despoina Mantzari joined the UCL Faculty of Laws in September 2018 as Lecturer in Competition Law and Policy.

Prior to joining UCL, she was a Lecturer at the University of Reading School of Law and Programme Director of the LLM in International Commercial Law (2014-2018).

Ms Mantzari holds a PhD (AHRC doctoral scholarship) and an LL.M in European Union Law (distinction) from UCL and a law degree from the National University of Athens, Greece.

As Director of EU Policy at Allied for Startups, Benedikt engages with policy files ranging from AI to online platform regulation. He is particularly interested in shaping a fact-based discussion on the possibilities of innovation and technology, after having worked on the Digital Single Market in the last years.

Prior to joining AFS he worked for a Small Business Alliance and Deutsche Welle and completed a traineeship at the Council of Europe.

Benedikt holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and History from Jacobs University Bremen and a Master of Arts in International Relations and Economics from Johns Hopkins University.

Giulio Federico is Head of the Chief Economist Team (CET) unit at the European Commission’s DG Competition. As part of his role, he has overseen the work of the CET on numerous mergers and antitrust matters.

Prior to joining DG Competition in late 2011, he worked in economic consultancy for 10 years and was a Vice President at Charles River Associates.

He is an external faculty member at the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, where he has taught courses as part of a Master in Competition and Market Regulation, and on Abuse of Dominance, Mergers and Energy.

Phillip Malloch has been Director of Economic & Social Policy, EU Affairs, at Facebook since October 2019.

Previously, he served as Principal Advisor to the CEO at Telia Company. Prior to that, he worked as a public affairs and communications executive.

Mr Malloch has experience in industrial, political and executive communications and strategic engagement as well as a deep knowledge and understanding of digital communications and internet business strategy. Among other things, he has worked as part of leadership projects in M&A, strategy, CEO outreach, trade associations leadership, global political summits and outreach.

Alexis Walckiers is Chief Economist at the Belgian Competition authority. He also teaches Microeconomics at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (Université libre de Bruxelles) as a visiting professor and is a member of the research centre ECARES.

He has published several papers in competition and economic journals, including the Journal of the European Economic Association. He has previously advised the Minister of Economic Affairs on competition issues and has worked for Oxera, an economic consultancy.

Ben Wreschner is Head of Network & Economic Regulation at Vodafone, the British multinational telecommunications company, which he joined in 2011.

Mr Wreschner is an expert in regulatory strategy, market analysis, regulated pricing, cost modelling and regulatory accounting, overseeing Vodafone’s work in this field across all its territories and having previously advised operators and regulators on such matters in over 25 different countries.

He holds a BSc in Economics from LSE.