The problem is there's no way to evaluate if CEO($10M) is actually that much better than CEO($2M). How would you retroactively test the counterfactual of hiring the cheaper candidate?
Maybe in the future the stock price of robo-CEO companies can be used as a baseline. If you can't beat the robot index, then you're fired. (Obviously this will never happen because the board members are other CEOs, but you get the idea).
You're spot on. That's why Harvard Busiess Reviews "best CEO" list is a trailing version of multi-year TSR (total shareholder return) combined with some ESG metrics. It's the best you can currently do.
Maybe in the future the stock price of robo-CEO companies can be used as a baseline. If you can't beat the robot index, then you're fired. (Obviously this will never happen because the board members are other CEOs, but you get the idea).