Livingstone suggested that current arrangements could deter staff who would make “great directors” but who did not want to commit to nine years or let the company down by leaving after three or four.

“It’s not to suggest that six years should be a new tenure limit, but rather that the fixed-tenure limits being a lower bar and an upper bar results in an unhelpful rigidity,” she said.

Livingstone is currently the chair of rail freight business Pacific National. She has also chaired CSIRO and served as president of the Business Council of Australia.

She said the board directors’ time at the top had gradually reduced over the past 40 years due to the changing nature of the role.

Livingstone told the event while gender diversity on boards was important, it was not a “sufficient condition” and organisations should prioritise diversity of thinking.

“You may have a range of experience around the table but not enough ability of those directors to contribute to the specific needs of the organisation,” she said.

“I think there’s just too much ticking of the box and not enough thought around the question of diversity on boards.”

However, Woolworths chair Scott Perkins said he saw the performance of directors as a greater issue than their tenure.

“There should be no expectation that a director is appointed for 10 years,” Perkins said. “There should be an expectation that a director is appointed for as long as he or she is performing.”

Perkins spoke of the importance of having experienced directors with long corporate memories sitting on boards.

He said it was critical for Woolworths, for example, to have directors who were on the board in 2016 when “the wheels just about fell off the trolley” – in reference to the retailer slumping to its first-ever loss as a listed company – to help turn around its balance sheet.

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.