Congratulations Willy!  I would have said your chances of a response from anyone but a frontline staff was less than 2% and you ended up getting a reply from the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company on the other side of the planet and in the middle of a take-over battle.   The fact that he actually took the time to thank you and acknowledge (maybe validate?) your point would be included in their analysis is truely awesome, and way more than just being polite, imo.  Sometimes little nudges can tip the scale.  Well done!