The W3C Vision paints W3C as a compelling force for progress towards a web that puts people first. A few years ago, W3C reinvented itself as a standalone legal entity, giving itself greater agency to better realize that vision. Yet, while the values we hold remain strong and relevant, there has been limited progress on how effectively we put them into practice, and the demanding reality of running a standalone organization is catching up to us.
W3C needs focus and discipline to ensure the effectiveness of its core functions, so as to reestablish itself as the attractive venue for developing high-quality interoperable web standards. It needs to reengage its community, enabling a broad cross-section of the membership to feel invested in our collective future and empowered to shape its evolution, and to rebuild the mutual trust and respect necessary for us to collectively tackle the challenges ahead, from operational questions to ecosystem shifts such as the emergence of AI.
That focus and discipline must extend to W3C’s governance as well as its operations. As chair of the Finance Committee, I have worked to strengthen W3C’s financial oversight. This hasn’t been easy, and some issues took far too long to uncover, but the committee persisted in asking questions, investigating discrepancies, and insisting that the Board and membership have a clear and reliable picture of our financial situation. Good governance starts with accurate information and honest answers, and with directors willing to ask hard questions. The Board needs both to support and guide management through difficult challenges, while providing the scrutiny and accountability needed to ensure that problems are confronted rather than deferred.
In finance as in other areas, understanding the reality that W3C faces is only the start. Resolute action is now needed. The strategy recently outlined by the Board provides a high-level roadmap for where we need to go. The challenge now is to turn it into reality, aligning our efforts around shared priorities, making hard choices given our financial constraints, and raising our standards where past success has led us to underestimate what’s still needed. That also means being clear about what W3C is: a principled, member-led organization, and one global W3C whose strength comes from bringing together its diverse community rather than allowing the inevitable complexities to fragment us.
I have been part of the W3C community for over 15 years, and have had the opportunity to contribute from many different perspectives: as a technical contributor, an independent consultant working across the Web ecosystem, an Advisory Committee Representative, an Advisory Board member, and now a Director. My work experience, supported by both an engineering background and an MBA, span standards and technology, governance and finance, and different regions and cultures. Born and raised in France, I now live in Japan, and work comfortably in English, French, and Japanese; I have also lived and worked in China and Norway.
I care deeply about W3C and about the role it can play in the future of the Web. I hope the Membership will lend its support to me and to other candidates who share this vision, so that we can help W3C meet this moment and build the stronger organization it needs to be.
I am an independent W3C participant; however my expenses for this role will be covered by Kadokawa, Kodansha, Media Do, Shogakukan, and Shueisha, (5 major actors of the Japanese publishing industry).