My personal opinion is that I would very much prefer all those smart and hard-working people be doing _more useful stuff_. So I think we're at the same sentiment here.

As for CEOs of public companies I do not know but my _impression_ still is that those consultancies are usually hired at lower levels - where the "responsibility buyout" is precisely _against_ such a CEO. Sort'a like the old "Nobody was ever fired for buying IBM".

And indeed I think the root is at the top (no pun intended): in most large(er) organization the incentives at the top are such that "having a sustained business" is _the worst possible choice_ - when you have a golden parachute deal it's better for you to literally bankrupt the company than to play it safe and say, ensure all the employees are not only well-treated but also well-compensated.