In corporate culture, the CEO is, fairly or not, a proxy for the company, and thus, the individual held responsible for the success or failure of the corporate

In corporate culture, the CEO is, fairly or not, a proxy for the company, and thus, the individual held responsible for the success or failure of the corporate entity. No different from firing the manager or head coach of a sports team (which may inherit a losing streak due to pure luck or regression to a mean from a spectacular run of winning seasons). The buck has to stop somewhere.