Advisory at the intersection of governance, capital, and emerging technology.
Governance · Responsible AI · & Strategic Advisory
Phaida Ventures works at the intersection of three disciplines — corporate governance and board advisory, responsible AI and ethics frameworks, and sustainable impact strategy — brought together by a conviction that accountability is the defining question of our time.
About Phaida
Phaida Ventures is a specialist advisory firm at the intersection of governance, responsible AI, and impact strategy — founded in 2018 by Didem Gordon, a capital markets and governance professional with over 35 years of leadership across banking, asset management, and board advisory in Turkey and internationally.
The firm's work spans three practice areas: Governance — board advisory, audit oversight, M&A mandates, and shareholder and stakeholder governance; Responsible AI — ethics frameworks, AI governance policy, and engagement with international standard-setting processes; and Impact & Strategic Advisory — ESG integration, sustainability strategy, and long-term value creation.
Didem Gordon — Founder & Executive Chair
Didem's career — from CEO and board roles at leading Turkish financial institutions to named contributor to Turkey's 11th Development Plan — has moved in a consistent direction: from capital markets, to governance, to sustainability, to the governance of artificial intelligence. That arc reflects a conviction that the questions shaping AI today — accountability, oversight, alignment with human values — are governance questions at their core.
Our Practice
Three interconnected areas of practice. One commitment to accountability.
Governance
Board advisory, audit oversight, M&A mandates, shareholder and stakeholder governance
Phaida Ventures advises boards, audit committees, and senior leadership on the structures, processes, and relationships that make governance effective in practice. Work in this area includes board effectiveness reviews, audit committee support, governance due diligence in M&A transactions, and advisory on shareholder engagement and stakeholder accountability. Didem Gordon brings direct board experience across listed and unlisted companies in financial services, asset management, natural resources, and agriculture.
Responsible AI
AI ethics frameworks, governance policy, and international standard-setting engagement
As artificial intelligence reshapes decision-making across every sector, organisations face urgent questions about accountability, oversight, and alignment with human values. Phaida Ventures helps boards, institutions, and policy-facing organisations build the governance structures needed to deploy AI responsibly — including ethics frameworks, board-level AI oversight design, and engagement with international regulatory and standard-setting processes. This practice draws on active participation in global AI governance dialogues and a career-long focus on the governance of complex, high-stakes systems.
Impact & Strategic Advisory
Sustainable investing, sustainability strategy, long-term value creation, and corporate finance advisory
Works with organisations navigating the integration of environmental, social, and governance considerations into strategy and capital allocation. Drawing on deep knowledge of ESG investing standards, sustainable finance ecosystems, and international best practices, the firm advises boards and institutions on embedding sustainability as a core dimension of long-term business performance — rather than a reporting obligation. The firm also provides corporate finance advisory — originating and facilitating strategic transactions, bringing together the right counterparties and providing senior oversight through the process — drawing on Didem Gordon's three decades of experience leading capital markets and investment banking operations at the highest levels of Turkish and international finance.