Ulrike Hotopp and Claire Whyley have been appointed to the PSR's and Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Competition Decisions Committees (CDCs).

These two committees are responsible for taking certain competition law decisions on behalf of the PSR and FCA. Committee members are selected on the basis of their experience of making independent evidence-based decisions, and their competition expertise.

Ulrike and Claire have considerable experience across a variety of sectors, and will enable the CDCs to maintain high standards in their important work.

Notes to editors

  1. Ulrike Hotopp has more than 25 years of experience as an economist working in Government and the private sector. For 16 years Ulrike was a member of the Government Economic Service. Her last role was as Director for Analysis and Chief Economist in DEFRA. In 2017 Ulrike founded LIVE Economics ltd, an economic consultancy company. Ulrike is a member of the Competition and Markets Authority’s merger panel, OfGEM’s Enforcement Decision Panel, and the Code Change Committee of the Market Operator for the non-household water market, MOSL. Ulrike teaches Economic Policy Analysis at the University of Kent.
  2. Claire Whyley is a highly experienced consumer research and policy professional, specialising in consumer needs, decision-making and outcomes across a wide range of markets including financial and payment services, energy, water, retail, aviation, road and rail, and advertising. She brings particular expertise in outcomes-focussed regulation and consumer vulnerability. Claire is a member of the CMA Panel, Pay.UK’s End User Advisory Council, the FLA Lending Code Board, the Board of PHIN, and SSE’s Strategic Stakeholder Panel. Previous non-executive roles include membership of the FSA Consumer Panel, the Heathrow Consumer Challenge Board and Deputy Chair (South) of SGN’s Consumer Engagement Board. She was also Senior Fellow at the Personal Finance Research Centre, Head of Research and Policy at the Welsh Consumer Council and Deputy Director of Policy/Head of Consumer Futures at the National Consumer Council.
  3. You can read more about the work of the PSR's CDC and the FCA's CDC on our websites, including the biographies of all current committee members.