Phil *may* be to blame, but his bosses (yes multiple, the board is also above him) are *absolutely* to blame.
We can assume generals are the reason soldiers are operating the way they are in a war, we can't assume colonels are the reason as they have considerably less control.
Phil is a colonel. Don't let the fancy CEO title fool you, he is not a practical CEO. He's essentially a USA secretary of whatever level, seemingly powerful, but can't do anything the president doesn't sign off on and *must* do whatever the president says.