Biography: Competition Economics

James is the managing partner of the competition and regulatory economics practice at Genesis Analytics. He has a Masters degree in economics from the University of Cape Town and held a senior lecturer position in the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town before joining Genesis in 2005. During his tenure at the University, he conducted extensive research in the competition and regulation fields and was convenor of postgraduate economic studies.

Since joining Genesis, James has earned a reputation as one of the most respected economists in the competition law field in South Africa. Under his guidance, Genesis has become the most experienced group of competition economists in South Africa, involved in more cases than any other economics firm. James has provided expert testimony before the Competition Tribunal in many of the landmark cases for South African precedent, including both mergers and prohibited practices complaints. He has assisted numerous companies when engaging with the Competition Commission, and providing advice on the design of compliant business practices which address business objectives. James' clients include blue-chip South African and international firms as well as the Competition Commission itself, and his experience covers most sectors including communications, mining, consumer goods, health care, agriculture, financial services and industrial goods. Many of Genesis' clients in competition matters also face regulatory pressures in their respective sectors. As such, James has led an array of regulatory work for clients in the telecommunications, broadcasting, health and energy fields. In telecommunications, James is recognised as a regulatory expert having advised the regulator (ICASA) on a number of matters as well as regulated firms. In broadcasting, James has a longstanding relationship with the largest DTH subscription broadcaster in Africa. In health, James' experience includes various matters relating to price regulation in pharmacies, OTC medicines and the private hospital sector. Most recently, James spearheaded a comprehensive assessment of the recent price-increase proposal of the national electricity provider. In addition to regulatory work, James has been engaged by clients in pursuit and defence of large damages claims arising from contractual disputes.

James' experience also extends to competition policy. James recently advised the Department of Trade and Industry on public interest considerations in competition matters. He also provided key inputs into the design of recent amendments to the Competition Act including the provisions on complex monopolies and co-jurisdictional issues.

James is widely published in refereed journals and is the author of several chapters in books, many conference papers (international and local) and a variety of articles in other publications. He has been the guest editor and an external reviewer for the Africa edition of the Telecommunications Policy journal, and is an external examiner at the University of the Witwatersrand.