It could be that height says nothing about competence as a CEO, or it could be that the people who attain CEO and succeed despite height bias need to have an exceptionally strong mix of merit/will/effort.

I've heard the latter theory at least a couple times about US Navy SEALs.

The first time, it was a retired SEAL I knew (well over 6', and a brick wall) who one day out of the blue said something like, "You shouldn't feel bad about being short. The best SEAL I knew was a short guy, and he could kick my ass."

Later, I heard a similar anecdote in a speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxBQLFLei70&t=440s

As famously quoted by Darth Vader: https://youtu.be/6A0rwG39Jzkt=349

I've heard a number of times that you want to be worried about the guy who looks out of place because he's there through pure grit, skill, and determination.

I've heard that special forces guys tend to be smaller, but I'm not sure that's true. It seems like there could be a few tactical advantages to being shorter, less likely to bump your head maybe, but who knows.