Raphaël De Coninck

Vice President
Raphael DeConinck | European Antitrust and Competition | Charles River Associates

Dr. Raphaël De Coninck heads CRA’s Brussels office. Raphaël provides expert economic evidence and testimony in all competition matters, leading teams of economists at the forefront of merger, antitrust and damages analysis. He has worked on many of the landmark European competition cases of the last two decades, including over 80 mergers and 25 “Phase II” merger investigations, and over 50 abuse of dominance, cartel and damages cases.

Raphaël advises clients on competition matters in front of the European Commission and national authorities, as well as in litigation and in arbitration. In addition to European cases, he has provided expert economic evidence in Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, and regularly works on transatlantic cases in close collaboration with US colleagues.

Raphaël’s experience spans a wide range of products and industries, including in the technology sector, pharmaceuticals, consumer products and retail, transport, telecoms, energy, basic industries, financial services, media and entertainment. While at CRA, he has worked for clients such as leading tech firms, Universal Music Group, Dolby, Pfizer, Novartis, Mylan, Baxter, Abbott, GE, Linde, Novelis, Energizer, Danone, Henkel, L’Oréal, ABF, Ahold Delhaize, Virgin Atlantic, Wallenius, Cable Europe, Canal+, SFR, FIFA, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, private equity firms and the European Commission.

Prior to joining CRA, Raphaël was a member of DG Competition’s chief economist team at the European Commission. While at the Commission, he contributed to major competition policy initiatives, including the European Commission’s Best Practices for Economic Submissions and Data Collection in Merger and Antitrust Cases, and the European Commission’s Practical Guide on the Quantification of Antitrust Damages. Raphaël has published numerous articles on the economics of competition, covering in particular horizontal and non-horizontal mergers, the impact of mergers on innovation, market definition, exclusionary conduct, excessive prices, standard essential patents, bargaining power and antitrust damages estimation.

Raphaël holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago and degrees in law and in economics from the University of Liège, Belgium. He has been a post-doctoral fellow at New York University and taught at the University of Chicago and the Free University of Brussels (ULB).

Raphaël is recognized as one of Europe’s top competition economists by WWL Global Elite, receiving wide praise from clients and peers: “Raphaël De Coninck is a “superb” economist who is recommended for his “really excellent work” when it comes to delivering expert testimony on competition-related merger and damages cases.”

Selected engagements

  • 01
    European Commission unconditionally approves INEOS’ acquisition of certain assets of TotalEnergies
    On March 13, 2024, the European Commission unconditionally approved INEOS’ acquisition of sole control of certain assets of TotalEnergies in France in Phase...
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  • 02
    European Commission closes investigations into retail alliances
    On 13 July 2023, the European Commission announced its decision to close its preliminary investigations into certain practices of two European retail...
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  • 03
    European Commission closes antitrust investigation into wood pulp
    On 15 June 2023, the European Commission announced its decision to close its antitrust investigation into potential anticompetitive practices in the wood pulp...
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