Feminine Leadership
In a Brave New World
15th 19th October 2025
Clos de Gaye, South West France
Let’s reimagine “power” as a holistic integration of diverse human qualities, rather than solely as dominance. Here, we will create initiatives that enable both people of all genders to embrace masculine and feminine qualities in a balanced way, fostering human progress.
Knowing the limitations of traditional models, we will build together a more sustainable, empathetic, and ultimately more effective approach to global challenges.
The Challenge
Our systems reward brutality over wisdom, competition over collaboration, dominance over partnership. This masculine paradigm—infecting both men and women in power—has spawned authoritarian regimes that crush dissent and treat citizens as disposable. It breeds zero-sum thinking that sees every interaction as winner-takes-all, rigid hierarchies that suffocate innovation and grassroots solutions, and reward structures that celebrate aggression while punishing cooperation.
A future without feminine leadership will be fatal for civilization. We've built a world that worships strength while despising adaptability, that breaks under pressure because it refuses to bend. It’s time for us to rebuild our paradigm of leadership.
What We Will Create
We will architect revolutionary models to forge balanced leadership, where both men and women embody the full spectrum of human capabilities.
Deliverables:
Revolutionary Leadership Models that shatter masculine paradigms and demonstrate balanced leadership in action—proving both men and women can embody the full spectrum of human capabilities.
Policy Warfare through strategic lobbying and legislative proposals that mandate balanced leadership structures across institutions.
A Resource Fund that deploys networks, training, and capital to elevate leaders who reject the old paradigm and make balanced leadership inevitable.
Systemic Disruption Platform at Clos de Gaye Impact Hub—launching thought leadership that rewrites narratives, awareness campaigns that expose masculine dominance failures, and high-impact projects that replace the dying system.
Execution: Transform these principles into thought leadership, systemic change initiatives, and high-impact projects through our Clos de Gaye Impact Hub.
Following the retreat, we will transform what we discuss into concrete action with measurable impact. Over 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, we’ll work alongside you to bring your vision to life, leveraging a world-class network to ensure your experience creates real change in the world. You’ll also have access to bi-monthly networking sessions with your cohort to deepen learning, share progress, and integrate transformation into daily life—along with lifelong membership in our Higher Order Leadership community, offering ongoing support, connection, and opportunities well into the future.
Feminine Leadership in a Brave New World is part of The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership’s annual ‘action summit’ programme that aims to address core issues facing our world right now with bold and imaginative thinking about both the personal leadership necessary and the larger systemic and structural issues that need to change to allow humanity to flourish
Feminine Leadership in a Brave New World is lead by Caroline Watson, visionary founder of The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership, and the Global Arts Impact Agenda.
An award-winning entrepreneur and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, Caroline is the owner of Clos de Gaye and a masterful hostess and creator of extraordinary experiences.
Caroline will be joined by two award-winning performing artists, Preeti Vasudevan and Clarice Assad, who will lead participants through a series of workshops on embodied leadership using voice and body
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Preeti Vasudevan
Award-winning choreographer and cultural storyteller Preeti Vasudevan's provocative theatrical works redefine individual identity, uniting artists and audiences alike. Her creations have been lauded as a refreshing collision of eastern and western aesthetics pushing for a new expression in art-making. Her unconventional storytelling challenges the status quo of dance-theater, bridging ancient traditions with the contemporary world.
Known for igniting groundbreaking artistic partnerships, Preeti frequently collaborates with celebrated artists such as legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and Dame Evelyn Glennie amongst others. Preeti’s works have been commissioned and supported by distinguished institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art NY, Glimmerglass Opera Festival NY, and Guggenheim’s Works & Process NY, TED Centre National de la Danse, Paris, and Lincoln Center, NY. She has been invited to sit on panels at the National Endowment for the Arts US, US Consulate panel on women creatives, Joyce Theater, and Asian American Arts Alliance.
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Clarice Assad
Grammy Award-nominated Clarice Assad is a musical force that seamlessly bridges classical, world music, pop, and jazz. As a Brazilian-American composer, pianist, vocalist, and educator, she has earned international acclaim for her evocative compositions and dynamic performances.
Currently serving as Composer-Educator in Residence with both the Allentown Symphony Orchestra (2023-2027) and Albany Symphony (2024-27), Assad has composed over 90 works commissioned by prestigious institutions including Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Her album "Archetypes," created with Sérgio Assad and Third Coast Percussion, received two 2022 Grammy nominations, and her work "Danças Nativas" was nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2009.