It the end, it is the responsibility of the shareholders and purchasers to keep excess in check, not government.
It is because of government in the first place the upper echelons of business are bloated and over compensated. Your example of the person you knew on all those boards is not just in business. It goes throughout our system, in business, in academia, and in unions. It is usually because of influence with government for pay.
I never said anything about the govt.
As for the shareholders they get voted down all the time. The CEO's give their shares more votes per share than regular stockholders. As always, they get the upper hand.