“Person xyz built a complex model deployment system, capable of updating the recommendation engine in real time, with automated rollbacks and A/B testing. He leveraged 4 junior engineers and collaborated with multiple data science teams”

Indeed, this is why corporate KPIs exist.

Requiring everything to move KPIs is psychotic, but if your effort should have moved a KPI, and didn't, then you'd better have a damn good story about how it delivered value elsewhere instead.