ACCC Chair Rod Sims has welcomed Treasurer Josh Frydenberg's announcement today that Stephen Ridgeway will join the agency as a Commissioner.
Mr Ridgeway has been appointed for a term of five years. He brings to the ACCC extensive experience as a leading lawyer specialising in competition and consumer law, including in large-scale litigation, merger review and infrastructure access matters.
Mr Ridgeway spent 10 years at the Australian Government Solicitor where he acted as a senior legal advisor to the ACCC. He moved into commercial practice in 1998, becoming partner at Blake Dawson before moving to King & Wood Mallesons' competition and regulatory unit.
Mr Ridgeway was National Chair of the Law Council of Australia's, Business Law Sections' Competition and Consumer Committee during 2011 and 2012, and was an Executive Member of the Business Law Section at the Law Council of Australia from 2016 to 2018.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Science with Honours from the University of New South Wales.
"We are extremely pleased to have someone of Stephen's calibre joining the Commission, and we are looking forward to drawing on his impressive legal expertise in our competition work in particular," Mr Sims said.
"Stephen is a leading expert on competition law issues in Australia, and has made many outstanding contributions to law reform discussions in this area."
Mr Ridgeway replaces Roger Featherston, who stepped down this month after five years at the ACCC.
Mr Featherston was chair of the ACCC's Mergers and Adjudication committees, and also served on the Enforcement and Communications committees. He made significant contributions to some of the major inquiries conducted by the ACCC in recent years, including the East Coast Gas Inquiry, the Retail Electricity Pricing Inquiry, the Digital Platforms Inquiry, and the Mobile Roaming Inquiry and the Communications Sector Market Study.
"Roger's knowledge, experience and wise counsel have been invaluable to this agency. His contributions have helped improve competition in Australia and have helped deliver many important outcomes for Australian consumers," Mr Sims said.
"His involvement in the ACCC's mergers work has been particularly notable, but his insights and advice have influenced our work in so many areas."
"We wish Roger all the best."
