Don't expect to get a direct connection by calling his office. If he has, which he does, a good secretary he/she is likely to shield him from most people trying

Don't expect to get a direct connection by calling his office. If he has, which he does, a good secretary he/she is likely to shield him from most people trying to contact him. I worked for a small company and it was a bear to get in contact with my company's CEO. That was a company with less than 200 employees. I suspect it would be next to impossible for a company with 1000's. Especially if he/she has no idea who you are. Sometimes the office of the CEO has someone who acts on behalf of the CEO. They read letters that are sent to the CEO with problems and route them to the right people to get the problem fixed. If it's reasonable, this works sometimes since the request comes from the office of the CEO and no subordinate wants to get in trouble if it's a simple problem to solve.