I suspect that the COO directly reported to the CEO ;-) (and...

I suspect that the COO directly reported to the CEO ;-) (and tried to make him happy).
I wouldn't think the board are totally lacking in intuition and knowledge. I would suspect they have been evaluating the COO for quite a while, and he has impressed. He also has been in a position to critically evaluate Pretty's decisions, but not likely in a position to do things his way.

However maybe the market will wait for a further statement as to their new plans before finding any comfort, or reasons to panic.