One of the things that had made American industry strong was specialization. Doing what a CEO does does not necessarily add a lot of value since CEOs generally invent nothing and make nothing themselves. Yes providing guidance and organization of efforts for a large number of people is a value-adding activity - but not when everyone is doing it for himself. Furthermore our economy will work best when our best engineers are spending their time on engineering leaving other business aspects to other people with other talents.
Far too narrow a view. These engineers "revving engines in career neutral" are where they are because they have not differentiated their talents or their skills-set.
I have three degrees in natural sciences and a business degree as formal schooling goes. Those were springboards to my own 22 years of career success. The rest was diversifying skills sets and selling them to someone in the consumer products and pharmaceuticals businesses who buys them.
In my business, I am the CEO and chief biochemist, Principal consultant, and head of business development.
Who says a CEO doesn't add value, and generally invents nothing? I AM the value and the product sought by my clients.
You are merely envious of CEOs because board members value what they do so much to bring a vision to a bunch of engineers whose efforts would be scattered in a thousand different, non-business related directions otherwise.