The Brattle Group opens office in Brussels, 4th in Europe

US headquartered economic and competition consultancy The Brattle Group has opened an office in Europe’s political capital of Brussels, the firm’s fourth on the continent. 

Alexis Maniatis, a President at the consulting firm, said in a reaction to the move that a strong presence in Brussels is a nowadays a “must for a modern global competition” firm. “The European Commission is increasingly influencing competition policy matters….. Brussels is the hub for high-profile competition matters throughout Europe, and our Brussels office will provide face-to-face service to the Brussels competition community.” 

The firm’s Brussels office is its fourth on mainland Europe, adding to the footprint in Rome (Italy) and Madrid (Spain). The London office in the UK completes The Brattle Group’s presence in Europe. “Our Brussels office will draws on the experience of our global competition teams across the region, as well as in North America and Australia,” noted Maniatis. Globally, The Brattle Group has 10 offices and more than 350 staff, serving clients on topics such as economics, antitrust, finance, forensic economics, intellectual property, international arbitration, trade disputes, taxation, regulatory policy and valuation.

To lead the new arm, the firm has setup a team of several top economists with a track record in Europe. Kai-Uwe Kühn, a former chief economist at EC’s Directorate-General (DG) for Competition, has been appointed office head. He is a leading academic in the area of industrial organisation and has advised clients on a range of antitrust matters for the past 25 years. He joins the consultancy from Charles River Associates, which he served for the past five years.

Commenting on his new challenge, Kühn said: “I am honoured to be part of this effort to build a strong competition group in Brussels and looking forward to the chance to be working with longtime friends, collaborators, and academic colleagues worldwide.” 

Joining him in the leadership team of the Brussels office are two Principals – Eliana Garcés and Konstantin Ebinger. Both senior experts bring deep experience in competition cases presented before the European Commission and national antitrust authorities worldwide, as well as in follow-on damages litigation. Brattle’s experts in Brussels will work closely with its worldwide network of consulting experts and academic affiliates.

Garcés was a member of the Competition Chief Economist team at the European Commission and a member of former Vice President Joaquín Almunia’s cabinet, the commissioner responsible for competition policy. She also served as the deputy chief economist at DG Internal Market and Industry. She has been with The Brattle Group since September 2017 and recently affiliated with the Belgian office. 

Ebinger has more than 10 years of consulting experience in competition and antitrust matters in Europe and the United States, having advised on competition issues before the European Commission and national competition authorities, as well as in follow-on damages litigation. He recently joined the firm from Charles River Associates, and prior to that served E.CA Economics, a German economics consultancy. 

Last year, UK-origin economic consultancy Oxera added Sir Philip Lowe to its team in Brussels.