Ali Nikpay, a lawyer at the American law firm Gibson Dunn, is among the candidates being considered by Jacob Rees-Mogg for the position of chief executive officer of the Competition and Markets Authority.

A prominent City attorney has been shortlisted for the position of chief executive officer of the competition watchdog.

Ali Nikpay, a lawyer at the American law firm Gibson Dunn, is one of several applicants alleged to have been interviewed in the last two weeks for the position of head of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

According to city sources, Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg took an active interest in the CMA’s recruiting process during a time of heated disagreement over the organization’s future direction.

Mr. Nikpay is a former executive with the competition authorities, where he held positions such as senior director for merger decisions and senior director of its cartels and criminal enforcement branch.

At Gibson Dunn, where he co-chairs the antitrust and competition group, he has supervised work for clients including Asda, UBS, and the ticketing platform Viagogo.

He is reportedly in competition with Sarah Cardell, the interim CEO, and Sheldon Mills, a senior official at the Financial Conduct Authority, for the position of CMA chief executive to succeed Andrea Coscelli.

Wednesday, the identities of the other candidates were unknown.

In April, the Financial Times reported that the government was eager to choose a female CMA director.

Mr. Coscelli resigned earlier this year, leaving the CMA in a period of transition before the arrival of Marcus Bokkerink as chairman.

The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy did not respond.