First, software engineering and programming are fields with way more skill diversity, which is a nice way of saying that there are a lot of relatively incompetent people in the industry. The assumption that people with experience are more skilled isn't generally true. I've seen people hired for the role of CTO in small startups who were explicitly chosen for their age because it somehow meant that they got more experience, except that they weren't as good as the graduate.
Second, software isn't as critical as other fields because users don't care (or are trained not to care). Your iPhone calculator not working isn't the same as your room's window not closing. Most companies don't really search talent. They just want to hire cheap "talented enough".
In the specific case of Facebook, Amazon, etc, the hiring process is focused on algorithmic and stuff like that a recent grade is simply more likely to get since it's still fresh.
The CTO role is about 40-49% technical at the absolute most. The primary point of the CTO is to build the team below them. This requires a lot of "soft skills" that 99% of graduates don't have.
My point is that it's likely the CTO is not the most technically adept person in the company, and that's to be expected.
First, software engineering and programming are fields with way more skill diversity, which is a nice way of saying that there are a lot of relatively incompetent people in the industry. The assumption that people with experience are more skilled isn't generally true. I've seen people hired for the role of CTO in small startups who were explicitly chosen for their age because it somehow meant that they got more experience, except that they weren't as good as the graduate.
Second, software isn't as critical as other fields because users don't care (or are trained not to care). Your iPhone calculator not working isn't the same as your room's window not closing. Most companies don't really search talent. They just want to hire cheap "talented enough".
In the specific case of Facebook, Amazon, etc, the hiring process is focused on algorithmic and stuff like that a recent grade is simply more likely to get since it's still fresh.