Founding members.
Founding members are early participants supporting the establishment of GCBA and the initial standards framework. Founding-member relationships are disclosed under the conflicts of interest policy.
What founding membership means — and what it does not.
Why we name the founding cohort in public
An association's founding cohort shapes the character of everything that follows. The people and organisations who commit early — before the framework is proven, before the directory is populated, before the Association has a track record — accept more risk than later joiners. Naming them openly is the honest way to acknowledge that contribution and to allow observers to assess the character of the early support.
“The founding cohort is disclosed for the same reason every other relationship is disclosed: because the alternative is a private arrangement, and a private arrangement is not what we are here to build.”
Eligibility and selection
Founding membership is offered to brokerages, professionals and industry participants whose early contribution — of time, expertise, working-group participation or drafting input — materially supported the establishment of the Association. It is not sold. Where a founding member also holds a paid tier, both facts are recorded on the directory profile.
Nominations for founding-member consideration are handled through the founding-member nomination process while the founding window remains open.
Expectations of founding members
Founding members accept the same Code of Professional Conduct and the same tier-specific obligations as any other member. In addition, they are expected to engage actively with the initial standards drafting cycles, accept named attribution where they contribute to a published document, and disclose their founding status when it is relevant to a client, operator or regulator.
Founding status is not a permanent exemption from review. A founding member who ceases to meet the eligibility criteria is treated in the same way as any other member, and any change in status is recorded on the public record.
Conflicts and independence
Founding membership creates a disclosed relationship between a member and the Association. That relationship is recorded in the Independence and Conflicts register so that clients, counterparties and readers of the directory can weigh it. Founding members do not receive preferential treatment in the complaints process, the standards drafting process or the directory review methodology.
What founding membership is not
Founding membership is not a certification, a safety endorsement or a government approval. It is a transparent record of who was in the room when the Association's initial framework was drafted. Clients and counterparties should read the founding member's directory profile — and the standards themselves — to form a view of their present-day practice.