Margaret Loudermilk

Dr. Loudermilk previously served as the Assistant Chief of the Economic Regulatory Section at the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. In this capacity, she oversaw a staff of economists and data scientists working on high-profile civil and criminal matters, including mergers and conduct investigations.

Dr. Loudermilk managed all aspects of external expert work, including expert reports and testimony, while coordinating training and professional development efforts across the Expert Analysis Group. Previously serving as Acting Assistant Chief of the Economic Policy Section, she has led both operational management and strategic economic analysis.

Prior to her role as the Assistant Chief, Dr. Loudermilk served as a Senior Economist at the Council of Economic Advisors in the Executive Office of the President, where she led CEA analysis on competition policy, supply chains, and energy issues. She oversaw interagency teams developing economic analyses for executive orders and international negotiations and co-authored a chapter of the 2023 Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisors. Her work included drafting key sections of the government’s “Guidance on Accounting for Competition Effects when Developing and Analyzing Regulatory Actions.”

Throughout her tenure as an Economist at the Antitrust Division from 2017 to 2023, Dr. Loudermilk performed in-depth economic analysis supporting more than a dozen major investigations that resulted in merger abandonments, criminal fines, and divestiture remedies. She has extensive litigation experience, including preparation for direct and cross-examination of expert witnesses in civil and criminal trials.

Dr. Loudermilk served as Research Director of the Ivey Energy Policy and Management Centre at the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School, where she also held positions as Adjunct Research Professor and Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics. Her earlier academic career included roles at the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Her scholarly contributions include peer-reviewed publications in the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics and Computational Economics, as well as current working papers on vertical merger analysis and horizontal merger screening tools. Dr. Loudermilk is a recognized expert in antitrust economics, regularly speaking at international forums and academic conferences.