Hmm, maybe we have a different definition of what the CEO of the product means? I was referring to:

- Being the decision maker of their respective product area, not the whole product

- They can decide, based on data and insights gathered from multiple stakeholders, which problem is the most pressing to solve, and how to best solve them

- They're held accountable for the results

(If your definition is more or less the same, I must have been luckier then - I felt empowered in 3 out of 5 companies across 11 years!)