&gt;&gt;I haven&#x27;t tested my ability to get a VP-at-Google job<p>People don&#x27;t generally &#x27;apply&#x27; for a &#x27;VP-at-BigCorp&#x27; jobs. They either enter the game through their network, or get promoted in house.<p>Which is why it all comes down to how much good your network after a while. No matter how good you are, which college you went to, who are your friends etc sort of stuff matters way more than what the person can actually do. If anything, the real capability of the person may not even matter, most big companies run like well oiled machines, some one at the top is needed only to prevent what might be &#x27;obvious&#x27; mistakes.