Are you saying that Academic Pedigree is all that matters? What about all super-smart engineers at tech companies? They all must have PhDs? In my opinion, skills matters too, oftentimes more than the degree.
Anyone who believes that someone with a consolation degree might have as good a chance at saying something interesting about reforming academia as someone who banks retail has at saying something interesting about reforming high finance is welcome to try to find something more informative than that yahoo blurb. The opportunity cost for my time is higher.
(who needs think tanks now that we have generative AI, anyway? aren't they traditionally just a way to convert dollars into prose?)