Compass Lexecon Opens Copenhagen Office and Affiliates with Former Danish Competition Authority Chief Economist

We are pleased to announce the opening of an office in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the appointment of Thomas Rønde, Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Copenhagen Business School and former Chief Economist at the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, as an Academic Affiliate.

Professor Rønde is a recognized economics expert in competition policy and regulation and has extensive experience in advising firms and agencies in Denmark and abroad on cases and policy. His recent consultancy experience includes advising on the merger between the energy companies SE and Eniig in 2019 and the proposed merger between house-building companies HusCompagniet and eurodan. He previously worked at the University of Mannheim and the University of Copenhagen. He was a member of the Danish Competition Council from 2006 to 2013 and served as Chief Economist at the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority from 2013 to 2017.

Professor Rønde joins our fast-growing Nordic team of 18 economists and academic affiliates based across Finland, Denmark and Sweden. He will be supported in Copenhagen by Senior Economists Robin Rander and Sergey Khodjamirian, who have transferred from Compass Lexecon’s London office, where they have advised clients in the Nordic region for several years, particularly on European cases.

Compass Lexecon brings a truly unique proposition to law firms and clients in Scandinavia, offering a local presence while leveraging the extensive experience and capabilities of the wider European competition practice. In recent years, the team has successfully advised Nordic clients in multiple important matters, both before the Nordic national competition authorities and the European Commission. Recent notable cases include the unconditional Phase I clearances in Sanoma / Alma Media before the Finnish authority and in Widex / Sivantos and Fazer Food Services / Compass Group before the European Commission.

Professor Rønde commented: “I am delighted to be joining Compass Lexecon and to be a part of its network of academic affiliates. I am particularly looking forward to helping to launch the Copenhagen office and working with the rest of the team on providing cutting-edge solutions to problems faced by Compass Lexecon’s clients in the Nordics.”

Jorge Padilla, Senior Managing Director and Head of Compass Lexecon EMEA, commented: “Our Nordic team has seen significant expansion since the opening of the Helsinki office nearly four years ago. We are pleased to expand our footprint with a Copenhagen office and welcome Thomas as an affiliate. He brings a blend of academic, agency and consulting experience which is distinctive of Compass Lexecon and supports our mission to provide independent and exceptional quality economic analysis and advice to Nordic clients engaged in competition, litigation and arbitration cases.”