> The specific case here about criminally negligent software design errors almost certainly never came up to the CEO. He or she is responsible for the culture

> The specific case here about criminally negligent software design errors almost certainly never came up to the CEO. He or she is responsible for the culture and governing within the company. So either way they are involved either by knowing and ignoring or by setting the precedent for this to go ahead without their knowledge. The punishment for those might differ but it's not a free pass.