Oxera promotes State Aid head Nicole Robins to Partner
Oxera has promoted Nicole Robins to Partner, following which she will head the firm’s State Aid practice in Brussels. The appointment further boosts the firm’s credentials in the state aid segment, making it one of the leaders in the space.
Nicole Robins joined Oxera in 2005, and became a Principal and head of its firm’s State Aid teamat the start of the year. Her latest promotion, following hot on the heels of her previous elevation, sees Robins become a Partner in her 12th year with the firm, while continuing to lead Oxera’s State Aid practice from Brussels. She brings extensive experience in state aid compliance to the role, and notably provided advisory work for a recent European Commission litigation case.
Her most recent role as a Principal saw her work on state aid related issues, pertaining to the assessments of the market economy operator principle, the application of state aid rules for services of general economic interest for, among others, transport, financial services, health, communications, energy, real estate and sports infrastructure. In addition, Robins teaches the state aid module on the postgraduate diploma in Economics for Competition Law at King’s College London, and provides training for EU Judges on the economics of state aid. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics with Computing from the University of Surrey and a Master of Science in Economics and Finance from Warwick Business School.
In a release regarding Robins’ second promotion in 2017, Oxera commented, “Nicole has considerable in-depth experience in state aid, and has been instrumental in making Oxera the market-leading economics and finance consultancy in state aid. In addition to providing advice to clients on state aid compliance, she advises beneficiaries, complainants and member states during European Commission investigations and in appeals of its decisions. She has also been appointed as expert on state aid matters in court hearings.”
Oxera has announced a number of high profile appointments as the firm approaches the New Year. The economics research focused consultancy welcomed two new Senior Advisors to its in-house economic-expert ranks in December. Former Alvarez & Marsal Partner Graeme Ashley-Fenn, who has a background in both private and public financial services firms, and Peter Andrews, who was most recently at the Financial Conduct Authority, both confirmed they would join the firm’s staff.
