It is, because money is not infinite so those resources spend on high level execs could be spend way effectively elsewhere.
> interest in attracting (and retaining!) high quality staff.
I know ton of high quality people (researchers) and they aren’t pay millions of dollars. A C-level desk warmer could do its job as effectively if paid a high, yet decent (in comparison to the average wage) amount.
The problem is you won't even find a desk warmer, at least none with actual experience in leading a ~750 employees organization, without taking part in the wage racket.
The only ones you'll end up hiring are either newbies wanting to use your organization as a "career trampoline" (which is bad because you want stability, not a change of course every other year) or failures that don't have a chance anywhere else.
The system must be fixed, and the system is absurd CxO pay. Relying on individuals sacrificing themselves/their orgs won't work.