When Melinda Snowden, chairman of $2 billion cloud connectivity provider Megaport, is approached by fellow directors or recruiters asking if she would be interested in a board position, she will invariably agree to talk.

Even if her portfolio of directorships is full, she has a list of others whom she can put forward. Hence, Ms Snowden’s advice for would-be directors is to find a director with “a similar background, who’s a few years ahead”.