The issue is more that the kind of executive who says "show me the data" is often not numerate enough to understand the limitations of the data set in front of

The issue is more that the kind of executive who says "show me the data" is often not numerate enough to understand the limitations of the data set in front of them. (Maybe the solution they see in the data has a tiny effect size or is too likely to be statistical noise; maybe the intuitive conclusion is demonstrably wrong once you apply a Bayesian approach.) A typical VP will have an MBA and maybe took statistics in high school.