New Commerce Commission chair named

Incoming chair John Small had a distinguished career as an economist and competition specialist. Photo / Supplied

John Small will take over as chair of the Commerce Commission from Dec 5, the government announced on Tuesday.

Small is an economist specialising in networked industries, such as telecommunications, and has been a member of commission since December 2018.

During his time at the commission, Small worked on the market studies of fuel, supermarkets and building supplies, and numerous competition merger cases.

“His career has also included work as an academic, adviser on policy and regulatory reviews, lay member of the high court, and now as a regulator,” said commerce minister David Clark, who announced the appointment.

Current chair to stay on

Small was appointed chair for the remainder of his current term as a member, which expires in June 2025.

He takes over from Anna Rawlings, who was appointed chair in 2019. Clark thanked Rawlings for leading the commission through significant change which saw its responsibilities widened and its headcount almost doubled.

“In order to facilitate a smooth transition, I have appointed Ms Rawlings as an associate member of the commission to work on competition and consumer protection matters under the Commerce, Fair Trading and Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Acts,” said Clark.

-BusinessDesk