This guy is an executive. He isn't "shipping" anything, and it isn't cynical to say that. Engineers tend to think about these things as if the world is a merit

This guy is an executive. He isn't "shipping" anything, and it isn't cynical to say that. Engineers tend to think about these things as if the world is a meritocracy based on your individual contributions. But for a lot of famous people, 80% of their contribution comes from attaching their name to the management page. I agree with you that none of this would be possible without the years of work he did to build his reputation. But people shouldn't feel bad just because a well-known person has lots of flash on their resume. This stuff accumulates at an unnatural rate.