Ex-lawyer Anna Rawlings to replace Mark Berry as ComCom chair

Tuesday 2nd April 2019

Former Minter Ellison Rudd Watts partner Anna Rawlings will take over the chair of the Commerce Commission next month when 10-year veteran Mark Berry steps down.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi today announced Rawlings' appointment, saying she has played a key role in the regulator's commerce and consumer divisions as a commissioner for the past five years.

Faafoi also appointed former Consumer New Zealand board member Joseph Liava'a as a new commissioner. Both appointments are for three-year terms.

"I also want to thank Dr Berry for his considerable contribution to the commission. He was first appointed chair in 2009, and has consistently shared his technical expertise in the commission’s work and demonstrated strong leadership," Faafoi said in a statement.

Berry took up the mantle in 2009, and has overseen a raft of major projects, including the structural separation of Telecom Corp and the introduction of a new pricing regime for network operator Chorus, the raft of settlements over global air cargo price fixing, a wide-ranging investigation into the dairy sector triggered by Fonterra's dwindling South Island market share, and several major mergers and acquisitions, including the rejection of the Fairfax New Zealand-NZME and Vodafone New Zealand-Sky Network Television deals.

Faafoi yesterday made two new appointments to the Financial Markets Authority board, naming former Belly Gully partner Mark Todd as the new chair, replacing Murray Jack, whose term ends at the end of this month.

Chris Swasbrook, the managing director of Elevation Capital Management, who recently lobbied for change at NZX, was appointed an associate member of the FMA board. His appointment starts in June.

(BusinessDesk)

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