Actually, this happens more often than it should. Sometimes high-level execs have a certain hobby horse they care about; a certain idea they want to push through. Company websites are a prime example because they have high visibility, and their importance tends to be overrated internally.

The problem with this is that those execs often don't have expertise in building these things and end up causing more frustration to the people supposed to do the job rather than being helpful. It is some form of micromanagement.