Just to focus back to the main topic... Apparently it is highly unusual to arrest an individual person that is part of a company when the said company is violating some kind of law.
There definitely have been arrests when export restrictions were violated. I remember back in 2001, McDonnell-Douglas sold an old CNC machine tool to a permitted aviation shop in China. That shop then transferred the machine to a military plant. The company eventually paid a fine. I'm not sure if jail time was sentenced, but I think some people were at least held in jail and then sentenced to time served.
Jon
At times, arresting the individual is the only thing that make sense. Take
Costa Concordia sinking for example, 32 people drown because the Captain was reckless. He took the ship off route and too close to shore.
To quote Daily Mail headline
[1], "
[the captain] admits he WAS showing off to ship's waiter, a friend on shore and passengers when he attempted fatal 'salute' to island". You can sue the cruse ship company, penalize the company for X million dollars and jail the conference room for 16 years - what justice would that serve? It was the Captain, the most senior officer of the ship, he was reckless. He was found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. That was justice.
When the illegal/irresponsible act can be traced to particular individual(s), charging them make sense. It follows that arresting them make sense also.
Applying that to the Huawei case, they will have to trace the act directly to the CFO for the arrest to be "proper". It is possible that the hardball played by the USA may be just theater. It would be better had Canada not been involved. We kind of ask a friend to throw the rock instead of throwing it ourselves.
[Pure speculation here:] That Canada became involve brings other thoughts into mind - could it be the case that she knew to avoid being on US soil? If so, it may be indicative of her being aware of what she has done might not have been cool...
[1]
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2857448/I-wanted-kill-three-birds-one-stone-Costa-Concordia-s-Captain-Calamity-admits-showing-attempted-dangerous-salute-island.html