Correct. In fact, even the second phrasing, "I wonder what the CEO thinks..." could easily be interpreted as expecting a response. It seems you'd have to real

Correct. In fact, even the second phrasing, "I wonder what the CEO thinks..." could easily be interpreted as expecting a response. It seems you'd have to really bend over backwards to avoid that, perhaps explicitly saying something like, "Obviously I wouldn't expect him to respond here, but I'm curious whether the CEO shares this view." Or something like that.