It depends what you want out of the conversation. Do you want to build the relationship, get an idea of how the company is doing, get advice for your career, etc. All of these require different questions. Also depends on how long you have.

But, my favorite generic question is "what keeps him or her up at night?"

Why?

* People generally love to talk about themselves, VPs included.

* It shows you are thinking about the big picture.

* It gives him or her the chance to talk strategically.

* It might give you some insight into current problems the VP thinks is or will be interesting/important to the org.