Alexander Italianer has been appointed as Director General for Competition at the European Commission. He takes over from Philip Lowe.

Italianer was Deputy Secretary General in charge of the Better Regulation Agenda and Chairman of the Impact Assessment Board from 2006. He holds a graduate degree in econometrics and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Groningen (the Netherlands), and was a research associate at the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) before joining the European Commission in 1985.

After 10 years in its DG Economic and Financial Affairs, he worked successively in the cabinets of President Santer, Commissioner Verheugen, Commissioner Telička and President Barroso, interrupted by a brief spell as Director for International Economic and Financial Affairs between 2002 and 2004.

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