Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, our founding partner and head of ELIG Gürkaynak’s competition law and regulatory team, spoke at the “Innovation: What Impact On Merger Control?” panel at The Innovation Ecosystem: Legal and Economic Perspectives conference organized by Concurrences at King’s College London on March 11, 2025. In his insightful speech, Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak examined the evolving role of innovation in merger contro

Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, our founding partner and head of ELIG Gürkaynak’s competition law and regulatory team, spoke with Prof. Frédéric Jenny (Professor of Economics, ESSEC Business School, Judge, Supreme Court of France, Chairman, OECD Competition Law and Policy Committee) on the key themes explored in Dr. Gürkaynak’s book Innovation Paradox in Merger Control, published by Concurrences. In this insightful conversation, they examine the complex interplay between innovation and competition policy, highlighting the challenges merger control faces in fostering innovation while ensuring market fairness.

Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, our founding partner and head of ELIG Gürkaynak’s competition law and regulatory team, spoke at the “Advanced EU Competition Law” conference panel entitled "Labour Markets under the Spotlight" organized by Informa Connect in Brussels on November 26 – November 27, 2024. Ms. Caroline Ziser Smith (Counsel, Davis Polk) moderated the panel and the other speakers included Ms. Djemila Mesbah (Global Head of Antitrust – Litigation and Investigations, Novartis International AG), Mr. Jérôme Cloarec (Head of Global Antitrust, Michelin) and Ms. Elisée Chazal (Senior Legal Counsel, International Contracts & Antitrust, The Adecco Group).

Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, our founding partner and head of ELIG Gürkaynak’s competition law and regulatory team, spoke at the “Advanced EU Competition Law” conference panel entitled “Review of Horizontal Restraints, Including Sustainability” organized by Informa Connect in London on April 24 – April 25, 2024. Ms. Caroline Thomas (Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright) moderated the panel and the other speakers included Ms. Eliza Petritsi (Director, Antitrust, Deutsche Bank), Mr. Miguel Perez Guerra (Director, Head of Antitrust, AB InBev) and Ms. Alena Kozakova (Director, E.CA Economics).

Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, our founding partner and head of ELIG Gürkaynak’s competition law and regulatory team, spoke at the Digital Antitrust: How to regulate? Conference panel entitled “Revolutionising Competition Law: The Impact of Generative AI and AI Foundation Models” organized by Concurrences in Paris on April 25, 2024. Mr. David Bosco (Professor, University of Aix-Marseille) moderated the panel and the other speakers included Ms. Laurence Bary (Partner, Dechert, Paris), Ms. Blanche Savary de Beauregard (General Counsel and Secretary of the Board, Mistral AI, Paris) and Mr. Thibault Schrepel (Associate Professor of Law, Faculty Affiliate, VU Amsterdam).

Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, our founding partner and head of ELIG Gürkaynak’s competition law and regulatory team, moderated the Legal 500 webinar entitled “Selected Contemporary Issues and Trends in Competition Law in Digital Markets” on Monday, March 4, 2024. The speakers of the webinar included Hon. Diane P. Wood (the Director of the American Law Institute; previously Senior Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; and Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School), Mr. Cecilio Madero (Senior Counsel at APCO Worldwide, Former Deputy Director-General at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, with more than 30 years of service at the European Commission). The full webinar session is available to view here.

Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, our founding partner and head of ELIG Gürkaynak’s competition law and regulatory team, spoke at the Antitrust in Developing & Emerging Economies webinar panel entitled "Innovation and Competition Law: What Do Developing Countries Need?" organised by Concurrences on December 13, 2023. Mr. Harry First (Professor Emeritus, New York University School of Law) moderated the panel and the other speakers included Mr. Frédéric Jenny (Professor, ESSEC, Paris, Chairman, OECD Competition Committee), Mr. Mahmoud Momtaz (Chairman, Egyptian Competition Authority) and Mr. James Hodge (Chief Economist, South Africa Competition Commission).

Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, our founding partner and head of ELIG Gürkaynak’s competition law and regulatory team, spoke at the Advanced EU Competition Law Conference panel entitled “Horizontal Restraints: Practical Review of the Guidelines” organised by Informa Connect in Brussels on November 21, 2023. Mr. Michael Bauer (Partner, CMS) moderated the session and the other speakers included Ms. Bitten Sorensen (Head of Competition Law & Policy, A.P. Moller-Maersk) and Mr. Niccolo Ciulli (Adviser, Competitiveness and Commercial Relations, EuroCommerce).

Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, our founding partner and head of ELIG Gürkaynak’s competition law and regulatory team, participated in a short interview held during GCR Live: Global Merger Control 2023.

Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, our founding partner and head of ELIG Gürkaynak’s competition law and regulatory team, spoke at the EU Merger Control 2023 Conference panel entitled “Managing Multijurisdictional Mergers: Is there Greater Divergence of Approaches by the Regulators?” organised by Informa Connect in Brussels on September 28, 2023. Mr. William Leslie (Partner, Linklaters) moderated the session and the other speakers included Ms. Naomi Burgoyne (Director, Mergers, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)) and Ms. Catherine Higgs (Legal Director UK & Ireland and Global Competition Law Head, GSK).