I agree with all that. But I'll add this. If the CEO is in any way involved with design, then you're already fucked. At every company I've every worked for ei

I agree with all that. But I'll add this. If the CEO is in any way involved with design, then you're already fucked. At every company I've every worked for either a) the company is big enough that the CEO doesn't even know there's a UX specialist, or b) the CEO defers to the UX specialist.