"The importance of the chairman should not be underrated," he said. "Just look at some of the companies that have got themselves into trouble and ask yourself, 'How effective was the chairman, was he or she a force for good.
"It's not simply a question of having the time; some professional directors work extremely long hours, but the chairman must be intimately associated with the company and recognised in the community as being so."
Mr Phillips added the chairman must be available to any board members at any time.
As for greedy executives, Mr Phillips attacked the culture of rewarding executive performance with share options. "I thought that the generous basic packages would ensure that happened anyway," he said.
In regards to the possible introduction of tighter disclosure rules by the ASX, Mr Phillips said this would result in managers having to think more about market reaction and share price rather than managing their own business.
