Yeah I thought that was extreme. An engineer going to the board of any corporation let alone Microsoft is not normal or customary IME. That could explain why they got no response.
It would be interesting to see this raised in the next shareholders meeting as a question of whether the board and exec team are actually competent and doing their work.
A man can dream anyway. When there is this much money on the line, sometimes people actually get held somewhat accountable.
This occurs whether or not it makes sense. Machiavelli actually warns about the specifically: if someone else controls access to you and communication with you, they have real leverage over you.