The company's vice president is just a puppet, with the real decisions being made by the hidden puppeteer.

puppeteer 是由名词 puppet（木偶、傀儡）加上后缀 -eer 构成的名词。puppet 本义是"木偶"，引申为"傀儡"；后缀 -eer 表示"从事某种活动的人"。puppeteer 字面意思是"操控木偶的人"，引申为"幕后操纵者"。