Agentia Boardroom and Sahm Law Combine
to Enhance Board Effectiveness Throughout MENA

Agentia Boardroom and Sahm Law have joined forces in a strategic partnership to strengthen board effectiveness across the MENA region. As boards navigate increasing demands around governance, compliance and the responsible use of AI, this collaboration brings together Sahm Law’s trusted legal expertise with Agentia Boardroom’s deep capabilities in advisory, education and technology services focused on AI in board effectiveness.

The partnership offers a unique, unified solution for boards operating in complex, regulated environments.

Why This Partnership Matters

The MENA region is undergoing a significant shift. Organisations are embracing stronger corporate governance standards driven by regulatory reform, international investment and a growing emphasis on institutional maturity. At the same time, governments and organisations across the region are investing heavily in AI and digital transformation, positioning technology as a central pillar of future competitiveness.

This convergence is redefining the expectations placed on boards. Governance is no longer just about compliance; it’s about navigating complexity, overseeing innovation and making decisions in an environment increasingly shaped by data and emerging technologies.

That’s where this partnership comes in.

Sahm Law brings trusted expertise in legal frameworks, regulatory compliance and governance structures across the Gulf. Agentia Boardroom brings deep capabilities in board-focused advisory, education and AI-enabled transformation. Together, we offer a unique, integrated response to a regional need: helping boards and the boardroom back-office teams adapt to higher standards while embracing the tools of tomorrow.

This partnership matters because it equips MENA boards not just to keep up – but to lead.

A New Kind of Readiness is Needed

Boards today face a dual responsibility: overseeing the strategic direction of AI while ensuring governance standards evolve to meet rising expectations. This isn’t just about keeping pace, it’s about addressing both challenges in a way that is deliberate, informed and aligned with the organisation’s needs.

This is a new kind of readiness, one that emerges on two distinct, yet inseparable, fronts:

governing AI and using AI to drive board performance.

1️⃣ Governance of AI

As AI becomes more deeply embedded in core operations, it shifts from an innovation topic to a governance issue. Boards are now expected to oversee how AI aligns with strategy, how its risks are managed and how its use is governed across the organisation.

This is not about becoming technical experts, but it does require fluency. Boards must be able to ask the right questions, interpret the answers and integrate AI oversight into their existing structures.

It’s not a matter of choice or timing. As AI becomes operational, board oversight becomes essential.

2️⃣ Using AI to Drive Board Performance

Rising governance standards demand more than stronger frameworks, they demand stronger performance from the board itself.

That means evolving how the board works: how it prepares, how it interprets information, and how it responds to complexity.

AI, used well, can support that evolution. Not as a replacement for judgment, but as a tool that enhances clarity, focus and strategic engagement.

Together, these two fronts — governing AI and using AI — define what readiness looks like for today’s board. They are distinct responsibilities, requiring different competencies, perspectives, and support structures. But they must be developed in parallel — not sequentially, and not in isolation.

This partnership provides a model to lead boards through both paths — governance and effectiveness — providing the necessary expertise, tools, and frameworks to navigate them simultaneously. We equip boards with the ability to evolve in both areas, ensuring that progress on one front strengthens the other.