2 June 2026
12:30 pm-1:30 pm
Registration and networking lunch
1:30 pm-1:35 pm
GCR welcome address
1:35 pm-1:45 pm
Chairs’ welcome address
Ethel Fonseca
Partner, RBB Economics
Andrea Gomes da Silva
Senior Advisor, Fingleton
Nicholas Levy
Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
1:45 pm-2:30 pm
Keynote interview
Linsey McCallum
Deputy Director-General, Antitrust, DG Competition, European Commission
Ethel Fonseca
Partner, RBB Economics
2:30 pm-3:30 pm
Where next for EU antitrust enforcement?
- What do recent cases say about EU’s priorities?
- Can cartel enforcement be revived?
- Where next on Article 102?
- Does the EC need a New Competition Tool?
- Is there a role for economists in antitrust?
Kyriakos Fountoukakos
Managing Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
Uta Itzen
Partner, Freshfields
Saskia Kirchgessner
Partner, Gleiss Lutz
Pierre Régibeau
Competition Expert, Analysis Group
3:30 pm-4:00 pm
Networking break
4:00 pm-5:00 pm
US enforcement under President Trump
- Merger control – what’s changed and how is this impacting other jurisdictions?
- Is a Trump doctrine discernable?
- Big Tech – friend or foe?
- Cartel enforcement – business as usual?
Ilene Knable Gotts
Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Mary Helen Wimberly
Partner, Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider
5:00 pm-5:15 pm
Chair round-up of the day
6:00 pm-7:00 pm
Drinks and networking reception
7:00 pm-9:30 pm
All conference dinner with keynote interview
3 June 2026
8:30 am-9:00 am
Coffee and networking
9:00 am-9:45 am
Keynote interview
Guillaume Loriot
Deputy Director, General Mergers, DG Competition, European Commission
Nicholas Levy
Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
9:45 am-10:45 am
EU merger control post-Draghi
- Navigating the jurisdictional minefield
- What next after Draghi's call to arms for a new status quo?
- What's changed under Commissioner Ribera?
- What are the key takeaways from the Merger Guidelines review?
Joan de Solà-Morales
Partner, RBB Economics
Niels Baeten
Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Matthew Bennett
Vice President, Charles River Associates
Annamaria Mangiaracina
Partner, Linklaters
10:45 am-11:15 am
Networking break
11:15 am-12:00 pm
Keynote interview
Lucia Bonova
Head of Unit – Digital Platforms, DG Competition, European Commission
Andreas von Bonin
Partner, Freshfields
12:00 pm-1:00 pm
Where next for Big Tech?
- What's changed under the DMA and DSA?
- Learnings from the first two years
- How does the EU define success?
- Can the EU withstand pressure from the Trump Administration?
- Where next for AI and Cloud Computing?
Konstantina Bania
Partner, Geradin Partners
Clare Kelly
Senior Competition Counsel, Google
1:00 pm-2:00 pm
Networking lunch
2:00 pm-3:00 pm
GCR Live: Debate
In Oxford Union style, we will hear teams of debaters argue in favour of, or against, a motion. A facilitator will act as a judge voicing their opinions on what has been heard. You as the audience will have the deciding vote for or against, via a live poll.
Motion: This house believes that merger control is too important to be left to lawyers, economists, regulators and courts - politicians can and should play a role
Nicolas Petit
Professor of Law, Head of Department, European University Institute
3:00 pm-4:00 pm
Litigating successfully and effectively in an era of rising cases and private damages actions
- Litigating before the courts: what makes for successful advocacy?
- Defending follow-on damages: how to design an effective strategy
Anca Cojoc
Principal, Cornerstone Research
Nicholas Khan KC
Barrister, Monckton Chambers
Despoina Mantzari
Associate Professor in Competition Law and Policy, University College London
Derek Ridyard
Member, Competition Appeal Tribunal
4:00 pm-4:05 pm
Chair’s closing remarks
Ethel Fonseca
Partner, RBB Economics
Andrea Gomes da Silva
Senior Advisor, Fingleton
Nicholas Levy
Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
