David Currie, Baron Currie of Marylebone
A regulatory architect who shaped the modern British economy by designing and leading its key competition watchdog.
Born 1946 (age 80)·British economist·Birthday: December 9·Baby Boomers
Biography
David Currie operates in the vital but often opaque space where economics meets public policy. An academic by training, with a career spanning the London Business School and beyond, he moved from theorizing about markets to directly shaping their rules. His moment of greatest impact came when he was tasked with a formidable piece of institutional engineering: merging the UK's Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading into a single, powerful body. As the first Chairman of the new Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Currie was its chief architect and pilot, establishing its credibility and setting its strategic course to police monopolies and protect consumers. His work, which earned him a peerage, reflects a belief that robust, intelligent regulation is not a hindrance to capitalism, but a prerequisite for its healthy function.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
David was born in 1946, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When David Was Born
The biggest hits of 1946
#1 Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Picture
The Best Years of Our Lives
David's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1946Born
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1951Started school
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1959Became a teenager
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Could drive
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1964Could vote
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Turned 21
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1976Turned 30
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 40
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 50
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 60
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 70
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 80
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the inaugural Chairman of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority from 2013 to 2018, overseeing its creation.
- Was Dean of Cass Business School (now Bayes Business School) in London, helping to expand its global reputation.
- Served as a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee from 2000 to 2003.
- Appointed as a crossbench life peer in the House of Lords in 2013.
Did You Know?
He is a former Chairman of the Ofcom Content Board, the committee overseeing broadcasting standards in the UK.
He co-authored a report in 2007 advocating for the creation of a 'super-regulator' for financial stability, a concept realized later.
He holds a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics.
“The regulator's role is to ensure competition serves the public, not to pick winners.”
