G'day Kap M, point far from proven. BG would have appointed a deputy (or assistant/stand in etc) to act in his place in his absence. The position of CEO doesn't just stop because the officeholder is absent. The most basic corporate governance requires this.
I don't quite follow your logic on why you admire BG but I do share your admiration. BG heads up a team as dollar focussed and ruthless as GD and has reaped the rewards. He has delivered to his board and his shareholders (which is his job). If you follow GD you will also note that he clearly admires BG and the
VB team for their commercial success and is envious of their cost base.
On the subject of packages and bonuses - if you compare and contrast the respective CEO packages over the last 3 years (and we don't even know most of the details for BG when
VB was private) there is a clear winner - and he doesn't come from Wagga Wagga.