Governance

History of the ACE Presidency

• Hans Zenger (European Commission): 2022 - 2024

• Ana Sofia Rodrigues (Portuguese Competition Authority): 2020-2022

• Penelope Papandropoulos (European Commission): 2018-2019

• Alexis Walckiers (Belgian Competition Authority): 2016-2017

• Giulio Federico (European Commission): 2014-2015

• Thibault Vergé (French Competition Authority): 2012-2013

• Miguel De la Mano (European Commission): 2011-2012

• Peter Davis (UK Competition Commission): 2009-2011  

• Anne Perrot (French Competition Authority): 2006-2009

• John Fingleton (Irish Competition Authority / OFT): 2003-2006

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John Fingleton, ACE’s first President, was one of the organisation’s founding figures, alongside Patrick Rey of the Toulouse School of Economics and Andrea Coscelli, then a consultant at Lexecon. At the time, Fingleton chaired the Irish Competition Authority before going on to become Chief Executive of the UK Office of Fair Trading in 2005.

He was succeeded by Anne Perrot, Vice-President of the French Conseil de la Concurrence from 2004 to 2012. During her tenure as ACE President, she organised the association’s annual conferences in Toulouse, Budapest, and Berlin.

Following the Berlin conference, Peter Davis, then Deputy Chairman of the UK Competition Commission, became President. When he left the Commission on 1 September 2011, Miguel de la Mano was elected as his successor. At the time, de la Mano served as Deputy Chief Economist at DG Competition and later became Acting Chief Economist of the UK Competition Commission. At the ACE General Assembly held in Paris on 26 October 2012, Miguel de la Mano announced his decision to step down. Thibaud Vergé, Chief Economist of the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence), was appointed President with immediate effect. When Thibaud Vergé left the French authority in 2013, Giulio Federico of DG Competition’s Chief Economist Team assumed the presidency in January 2014. During his term, ACE organised its annual conferences in Mannheim and Milan. Alexis Walckiers, Chief Economist of the Belgian Competition Authority, succeeded him in January 2016 and oversaw the Amsterdam and Madrid conferences. On 1 January 2018, Penelope Papandropoulos of DG Competition became ACE President. She organised the Bologna conference, which marked ACE’s 15th anniversary, as well as the Copenhagen conference in 2019. Ana Sofia Rodrigues, Chief Economist of the Portuguese Competition Authority, took office on 1 January 2020. During her presidency, ACE hosted a virtual conference during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently returned to in-person meetings with conferences in Barcelona and Lisbon. Hans Zenger of DG Competition became ACE President on 1 January 2023 and organised the conferences in Edinburgh and Milan.