The CEO works for the board. The CEO can be fired at will just like any other employee.

They will get an incredibly generous pay-off, unless they have fucked up to a world-beating historic extent. (And sometimes even then.)

But as soon as the CEO loses the confidence of the board, they're on their way out.

And most boards are only really interested in the financials. They don't care about culture, reputation, product range, or any of those other things. That's detail stuff, and it doesn't interest them.

This is a cozy arrangement because no one is personally responsible for anything the company does. The CEO and the board are covered by limited liability, and they won't be going to jail for common crimes - like poisoning water sources, or setting fire to forests.

They may go to jail if they fuck with the financials. Extreme fraud can be a showstopper.

But having a national monopoly on pushing highly addictive drugs isn't. That's a regrettable offence which deserves a medium-ish fine. And - you know - let's say no more about it.

Consultants - like auditors - exist to add another level of deferred responsibility. They're not there to make decisions, they're there to provide legal air cover for decisions that have already been made which need someone else's signature.

The meetings, reports, the hasmter-on-a-wheel super-keen grad cadres and the rest are just theatre.