> Nobody is doing that for $1m/year when one wrong decision could end up costing 1000x more than their salary and hurting livelihoods of the workers.

Exactly. The wrong decision costs _the company_ a billion, it hurts the livelihoods of _the workers_. Incompetent, even criminal, managers more often than not pay for their mistakes with early retirement and severance packages.

Winterkorn got a 10+m bonus when he stepped back and receives over one million in additional pension payments each year. That's the guy who is at fault for the Emssions Fraud Scandal. John Cryan, who oversaw the further demise of Deutsche Bank, was kicked with a 10m severance package. During his time as CEO, the Deutsche Bank share went from 30€ to 15€.