A leaders' network sells one thing: trust. Members bring their real decisions, their doubts and sometimes their failures into a room, on the promise that nothing will leave it and nobody will exploit it. That promise is only as strong as the governance behind it. Here is what a serious association puts in writing, and why each rule exists.
A legal form that fits the purpose
In France, the 1901-law association is the natural form for a members' network: non-profit, governed by its statutes, with members who elect its bodies. A commercial company can run excellent peer groups, but its members are customers, and a customer cannot audit the seller. Ask which form the network has, who owns it, and what happens to the surplus.
Independent councils
The founders of a network should not be its only judges. A strategic council sets the direction; an ethics council handles complaints, conflicts of interest and exclusions; an approval committee decides on admissions. Independence means members from outside the executive team, from academia, international institutions and civil society, with published names and terms.
An approval committee with written criteria
Admission by co-optation produces rooms that look like their founders. Admission by a committee of five to seven members, on written criteria of position, impact and commitment, with a simple-majority vote and a reasoned answer to every applicant, produces rooms that can be trusted. Refusals should be explained, and reapplication possible after a delay.
A members' charter
The charter is the contract between members. It should state the Chatham House rule, the prohibition of soliciting between members, the duty of accuracy about one's role, the limits on the use of documents and of the directory, and the consequences of a breach. Every member accepts it on joining and again when it changes.
Conflicts of interest and money
Members of the councils must declare their interests; a member of the approval committee cannot vote on a candidate they sponsor; the association takes no fee or sponsorship in exchange for a selection or a seat. Accounts are published each year with an impact report. Nothing of this is bureaucracy: it is what allows a minister and a chief executive to sit in the same room without suspicion.
Data and confidentiality
The directory, the forum notes and the members' area hold sensitive data. They must be hosted under a clear legal regime, accessible only to active members, with retention periods and rights stated in a privacy policy. The rule of the room extends to the servers.
How the World Leaders Society is governed
The World Leaders Society is a French non-profit association founded in Paris in 2025 and registered as such. It operates under an independent strategic council, an ethics council and an approval committee of five to seven members from business, civil society and academia, deciding by simple majority with a reasoned answer. Its members' charter, accepted at first sign-in and at each new version, enforces the Chatham House rule and forbids soliciting. Its accounts are published, an impact report is issued each year, and its editorial selection, the WLS 100, accepts no fee or sponsorship. The full composition of the councils is published at the founding summit.
Trust is not a value one declares. It is a set of rules one accepts to be bound by.WLS Editorial
An editorial analysis from the World Leaders Society.
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