Open AccessThe board of directors is acknowledged as one of the most important internal corporate governance structure. This paper reports a qualitative study on the characteristics of an effective board perceived by the Malaysian corporate leaders. The results are derived from semi structured interviews with 41 directors of top 100 Malaysian Public Listed Companies (PLCs). Four characteristics of an effective discovered in this study which comprise the board that has; (1) the right memberships, (2) the right culture; (3) clear roles and responsibilities; and (4) the right structures. This paper concludes that the behavioural aspect of the board in particular, the membership and culture of the board are found to be the most important components of an effective board. This has implication for those seeking to expand further research in corporate governance area. Finally, this paper provides a basis for characteristics of an effective board that can be applied by the Malaysian corporate governance regulators and policy-makers in enhancing Malaysian corporate governance policies.