When my employer went with United as our preferred carrier in '93, United granted Premier Executive status to all Vice Presidents (a consulting firm, so there were lots of VP's!). AVP's got comped as well, but that may only have been to Premier status.

I thought this was real smart of United and the company - nobody could argue that they'd get more bonus miles by continuing to fly their (old) preferred airline. And it really didn't cost United much - those who flew a lot were going to make Premier Executive anyway; those who flew a little would only get a few bonus miles that year. And the following year, elite status was back to how much you flew, not your corporate level.