Yes, signaling plays a big part. At some point you’re basically buying a gold-plated LinkedIn profile for the VCs and the press releases and the keynotes in industry summits, and that feeds on itself - each new prestigious VP position is another layer of gilt on the CV.

In other words, they are hired to look good - any productive outcome is a mere coincidence.

The IPO process is very tricky too; they want large holders to keep their stock as long as possible either to avoid tanking it or to keep the float small so it will bid up quickly. Naturally all these people can get out before the employee lockup ends though.