Hiring manager ignored me after referral

No! You have said that you will do something that you haven't yet done, and also that you are on holiday. I don't understand why, with 99% of responses all telling you the same thing, that you don't get this.

Kindly, you are coming across as very pushy. You aren't the only candidate I'm sure and I really wouldn't follow the other posters advice who said you should contact them again. It's quite common for people to recommend people they know, however it's never a guarantee. You being senior has no relevance, they'll have to treat everyone under the same process.

You seem to be arguing with everyone's comments here bar people who agree with you. Just to add as well, she might be waiting for all cv's to get in so that they can set up "intros" not having conservatories here and there all week. A week is no time.

I find it slightly below optimal communication and utterly pointless to try to read into.

You established that you were on vacation and would send a CV when you get back. As I said above, maybe she's just in zero rush (common for hiring at higher levels) and saw no need to be engaging in professional talk with you during you holiday, maybe this particular company has a more formal hiring process than you're used to (I don't require a CV to talk to candidates but that doesn't make this The One Right Way), maybe she's just a slack communicator, maybe she's not interested... who knows. It's a complete waste of time to try to overanalyze this with so little information. Updating your CV should be quick and it's always useful to have a new one anyways, so take this energy you're spending and do that. Then you can see how she responds and try to draw some impressions that are actually useful.

I don't think it would be fair for this hiring manager to start having introductory conversations with people who haven't even officially applied. For all you know the person who referred you might be little more than a tea boy in the eyes of that manager?
I'm not saying that's the case but you shouldn't be expecting special treatment as it's unfair on the other candidates.

If you are now back I would send a one liner saying so and asking for next steps.

If you're interested in the position please do not do this without attaching the CV that was already requested and which you said you would send when you return.

I don't care how senior the position is I'm hiring for, emailing and asking for next steps without completing such a simple first one would reflect poorly. I'm happy to talk to candidates before receiving a formal CV or their submitting any of recruiting's paperwork, but if they've said they'll send me a CV on a certain timeline then they need to do that without an additional prompt.

Ok but that does not mean that their "interference" in the normal hiring process will be appreciated. The company or hiring manager may prefer people to stay in their lane.
Of course their opinion may hold a lot of weight but my point was that you can't assume that.
Hopefully it IS the case and it gives your application a boost

You seem to think that you are guaranteed an interview and/or a quick response because you have a contact there but thats not necessarily the case.
Your application (or lack of) will probably be treated like everyone elses and the referral will just help if everything else stacks up too or its between you and one other for example. It won't mean you get special treatment.
For all you know the hiring manager doesn't even like or respect your contact.
I understand why you haven't been able to send your CV but if there are already lots of good candidates you may not even be in the running compared to people who HAVE properly applied.
It also could just be that the process is slower than you might have liked and you will be contacted when they are ready.

I agree with you. We get to a certain point in our careers where jobs come from recommendations and word of mouth. I haven't formally applied for a job in a decade, I am always contacted. Due diligence and references have usually been done before I am asked to apply. Sounds like you are the same. If you are now back I would send a one liner saying so and asking for next steps.

OP even though you are on holiday in another country. If this is a great opportunity, you get yourself to the nearest pc or laptop and update your cv there. I am sure the country you are in has computers and internet connections, unless you are in the middle of the Sahara dessert in a tent...It depends how much you want this. I would find all this being away irritating and a feeble excuse...

Every company has different processes and norms for hiring and different positions will have different timelines. Getting frustrated that they're not doing it the way you've done it elsewhere in the past is pointless.

They asked you for a CV to start the process and said you would need to apply directly, so take care of those pending tasks on your end if you think you're interested. Otherwise just let the opportunity go, but don't waste a bunch of energy mind-reading and critiquing this hiring manager you've never spoken with. Maybe the hiring manager is just on a relaxed timeline and is happy to wait until you're back from holiday and have had time to send a proper CV and application before getting on a call. Maybe they're not actually that interested in you because they have someone else in mind. Maybe they're just not a terribly proactive communicator. Maybe they're an unreasonable manager who thinks going away on holiday without your laptop makes you a poor prospect. The best way to find out is to send in your CV and the formal application as requested and see what they do.

Her org can't be more than 50 people, she will know the guy who recommended me.

You seem to be putting a huge amount of weight on this recommendation. But if I was hiring, I'd still wait until I had all the information - your CV - before doing anything. You seem to expect that the recommendation should be enough to whisk you through the system, but I don't think it works like that in most fields.

OP how you do things is obviously not how this USA based company do things. Stop trying to convince us they are wrong and you are right. Take the advice suggested and then get on with your life whilst their recruitment process happens.

Honestly OP, you’re taking this really personally and seem to be expecting preferential treatment just because you have an ex-colleague common. I’d never add a hiring manager on LinkedIn before I’d got the job.

I agree with this, the intro you’ve got from your ex-colleague is just that and while the hiring manager might use it to ensure they keep an eye out for your application, it’s still on you to prove you can do the job (and that the ex-colleague hasn’t over-egged the pudding with their glowing intro!). You’ve been told to apply through the normal channels so just do that!