Compliment?

I was in yet another meeting yesterday.

When it was my turn to present, the president asked, “How long have you been in the company?”

I answered, “___yrs, sir. I was with internal audit for __ yrs, then I moved to financial planning, then Mr P asked me to join his group.. blah, blah..”

Then he quipped, “So, how old were you when you joined the company? Sixteen?”

And then all the ‘gods’ present burst out laughing. That actually broke the tension and paved the way for a light and easy discussion of my presentation.

Now, should I take it as a compliment? That I look younger than my age? Hehe or do I lack credibility and that he doesn’t trust I can handle the job? Hmn…My boss said it was meant as a compliment. Whatever :)