Is the phrase 'Chief Executive Officer' cultural imperialism or a red herring?

In a ridiculously preachy article in the Globe and Mail, Catherine Roome, head of the Vancouver-based company Technical Safety BC, explains how she saw the light and decided to change her title from Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to Lead Executive Officer (LEO) after complaints from a "particularly courageous colleague".
She says that the use of the word"chief" as a title "represents something deeply meaningful to many indigenous peoples", a word that is "honoured and respected in First Nations culture". So, rather than be seen to co-opt a title that she sees as now belonging in some way to First Nations groups, she has chosen to change her own title to Lead Executive Officer.
Well, fine, she's the boss, I guess she can call herself what she likes ("head honcho", derived from Japanese, is presumably also out). But the fact remains that "chief" is a word that has been in the English Language since the 14th century, derived from the French word "chef" and originally the Latin "caput". It means "principal" or "most valuable" or "of greatest importance or influence", and has been used forbcenturies in a variety of contexts. In one of those contexts, it began to be used by European traders and settlers to describe the leaders of Indigenous nations they encountered during the colonization of North America (these groups, of course, already had their own words for their leaders, e.g. sachem, ha'wiih, and many more).
So, as a word imposed by colonizing European settlers, how "honoured and respected" can it possibly be? It is an English word with a specific English meaning entirely appropriate to the person in charge of a company or organization, and in this context it has no Indigenous context at all. The leaders elected to run companies are in no way appropriating Indigenous culture or language. To suggest that they are, as Ms. Roome does, is to twist things in knots, and to entirely miss the point.
I would even suggest that whoever made the original complaint to her, whether that person be Indigenous or otherwise, is also missing the point. You might say that I am not in a position to say that, that I am racist and enabling cultural imperialism. I would say that you are missing the point and, worse, creating an unfortunate distraction from the real issues of racism that DO need addressing.