If the awards for

the Country and the CEO are separate, what is the rationale for penalizing the CEO for accepting a Country award?

Cause the CEO was a really really bad Boy!


Besides that, good Players have good Empires AND good CEOs but to only give the best Players the Awards would be frustrating for the other ones. So penalizing whole accounts does spread the GCs to more People.
Btw Mute, what's even more intriguing is that all your Empires and CEOs get penalized on every world if even only one of those get an Award ^^

Trick is to have as many of the players CEOs and Empires to be eligable for first and second price the same month.

Better only aim at the second Group of Awards of Empire Awards NiAi, those have the best GC/Penalty Rate. You only have 1/3 of the Penalty of first Price but more then 1/3 of the GCs as if you had first Price. And better hope not to get any CEO Award at all if you can get Empire Awards as CEO Award's GC/Penalty Rate is waaaaay worse then for Empires, usually for CEO Awards you only get about 1/3 of the GCs as if you had the Empire Award but still you have the same Penalty.