BRG Hires Senior Competition Expert in Johannesburg

BRG today announces the appointment of Dr Liberty Mncube as a managing director based in the firm’s Johannesburg office. A preeminent competition economist, Mncube was most recently the deputy chair of South Africa’s Competition Tribunal, is a former chief economist of South Africa’s Competition Commission, served on the Ministerial Advisory Panel tasked with developing draft amendments to the South African Competition Act and served on Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council. Mncube’s appointment marks his return to private consulting, a field in which he demonstrated expertise during a previous tenure between his roles at the Competition Commission and Competition Tribunal.

Mncube’s experience spans provision of expert testimony in contentious mergers, single-firm conduct, coordinated conduct and damages matters. He has led teams on high-profile market inquiries, and his expertise covers all major economic sectors. Mncube is an associate professor of Economics at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Economics and Finance. A renowned thought leader in competition policy, he is a regular academic publisher and speaker at events and conferences. 

“Liberty’s hire is the most significant announcement we’ve made in South Africa since we opened our office here in 2020,” said Greg Harman, a managing director and member of BRG’s South Africa leadership team. “This move, consistent with the firm’s global strategy, comes against the backdrop of major expansion in the antitrust and competition space. We look forward to continuing to evolve our offering to serve the needs of our local and global clients.” 

Commenting on his appointment, Mncube said, “I’m excited to move back into consulting, helping to grow BRG’s South Africa practice and develop our offering to the African competition market. I see significant opportunities locally and globally in the competition space and look forward to building our presence here alongside my colleagues Helen [Kean Redpath], Phil [Alves] and Greg and collaborating with BRG’s world-class group of experts and talented staff.”  

In 2023 BRG launched its European Competition practice in Brussels and Paris with Dr Adina Claici, Konstantin Ebinger, Laurent Eymard and Prof Kai-Uwe Kühn; followed in 2024 by the addition of David Parker in London, the hire of a team of economic consultants in Brussels and the opening of offices in Rome and Milan. BRG has 26 experts listed in WWL Competition 2024 and has been ranked ‘Outstanding’ in GCR 100 – Economists for 12 years.