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AMMAN — The Social Security Investment Fund (SSIF) convened on Saturday its 11th Corporate Governance Forum"Governance in Times of Transformation: Responsible Leadership and a Digital Future" bringing together the Fund's institutional representatives on the boards and supervisory bodies of its portfolio companies with a distinguished gathering of governance, leadership and digital transformation specialists.
SSIF Board Chairman Omar Malhas affirmed that governance has moved beyond regulatory compliance to become a strategic capability that determines whether institutions can anticipate disruption, manage risk and generate enduring value.
The pace of economic and technological change, he noted, is placing boards under growing pressure to transition from passive oversight toward active, forward-looking stewardship that balances growth, sustainability and competitiveness.
In that context, investing in board development is an investment in the quality of institutional decision-making itself, according to SSIF statement.
SSIF CEO Ezzeddine Kanakrieh emphasised that the Fund treats its presence on portfolio company boards as an active instrument of value creation rather than a formal obligation.
The Fund's representation framework, he explained, rests on three pillars: the regulatory structures that define board conduct, the development programs that build board capability, and the evaluation mechanisms that hold performance to account.
Board quality, he affirmed, translates directly into investment returns and developmental impact.
He also reported that women now comprise around 25 per cent of the Fund's institutional representatives, describing this as steady progress with more ground still to cover.
The Forum addressed five governance challenges: the legal liability of board members and its implications for effective oversight; responsible AI governance, and the board's role in managing emerging technologies, without compromising institutional trust; and results-based performance governance and the discipline of translating strategy into measurable outcomes.
These were complemented by a session on crisis preparedness and building frameworks that hold under pressure, and for the first time, a dedicated focus on youth empowerment and community engagement, developed in collaboration with the Crown Prince Foundation, exploring how companies can move beyond transactional corporate responsibility toward sustained social value.
The Forum reflects SSIF's broader commitment to advancing corporate governance across its portfolio through regulatory frameworks, board qualification programmes and performance monitoring, building more capable boards, stronger companies, and a deeper contribution to Jordan's economic development.
