Well, according to statistics (see Kahneman) CEO 'performance' has very low correlation with perceived CEO performance. Also, past success has low correlation with future success. In other words, there isn't really a 'CEO skill', or a 'successful manager' skill. In other words, company success is not repeatable given the same set of people. In other words, yes, luck is extremely important.
There is no moral of the story other than: failure does not mean that you didn't do well.
There is no moral of the story other than: failure does not mean that you didn't do well.