Markets Wired

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz announced today that David P. Wales, Acting Director of the Bureau of Competition for the past nine months, will leave the FTC in May.

“Dave has done a terrific job in leading the Bureau of Competition during an active period of antitrust enforcement and a successful time for the agency in court,” Chairman Leibowitz said. “American consumers owe him a debt of gratitude, and all of us at the Commission are grateful that Dave agreed to stay on to help ensure a smooth transition.”

Wales joined the Commission in April 2006 as Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition. As Acting Director since August 2008, he has supervised nearly 300 lawyers and staff in the merger and non-merger enforcement divisions and led the Bureau in bringing more than 20 enforcement actions. Wales played a key role in developing sound antitrust policy, implemented improvements to the Bureau’s infrastructure and processes, helped develop amendments to streamline Part 3 of the FTC’s Rules of Practice for administrative adjudication, and managed Bureau resources during one of its most active litigation dockets.

Wales directed several litigated enforcement efforts that blocked proposed mergers in CCS/Newpark Environmental Services, Oldcastle/Pavestone, and CCC/Mitchell. In CCC/Mitchell, the Bureau obtained the first preliminary injunction order from a district court in nearly seven years. Wales also led the Bureau in challenging several consummated mergers in court, including Polypore/Microporous and Ovation Pharmaceuticals, both of which are still pending, and he oversaw the continuing litigation and subsequent settlement involving Whole Foods/Wild Oats. He also helped lead the FTC in obtaining important relief for consumers in other merger matters, including Reed Elsevier/ChoicePoint, Fresenius/Daiichi Sanyo, Dow/Rohm & Haas, King Pharmaceuticals/Alpharma, Hexion/Huntsman, Teva/Barr Pharmaceuticals, Herff Jones/American Achievement, Getinge/Datascope, and Lubrizol/Lockhart.

In the anticompetitive conduct area, Wales oversaw the Bureau’s two lawsuits against pharmaceutical firms that entered into exclusion payment agreements – Cephalon and Solvay Pharmaceuticals. He also helped lead the FTC in obtaining critical relief for consumers in other conduct matters in the health care, retail, consumer product, and real estate industries, including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Boulder Valley Independent Practice Association, AllCare IPA, Inverness, ESL Partners/ZAM Holdings, West Penn MLS, National Association of Music Merchants, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. In the energy sector, Wales oversaw several regional gas price investigations, as well as the Commission’s rulemaking to prohibit market manipulation in the petroleum industry.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

(WalesDeparture)