I'm not defending anyone here but if consent is not given it's a full stop. If ands or buts don't matter if there isn't consent. The moment the person replied via email that they weren't interested that was a clear no. What the ceo should have done is just make a public statement on their socials as is their right and not continue to privately message the person.
Again I'm not on anyone's sides, it's just a consent issue for me.