It sounds like these anecdotes are related to internal business systems. In over a decade I've only once seen a place that dedicated an actual FTE to internal

It sounds like these anecdotes are related to internal business systems. In over a decade I've only once seen a place that dedicated an actual FTE to internal product management, and that was because a whole team was dedicated to building those internal tools. Much more likely, I'd guess, is that either nobody was responsible or the person ostensibly responsible had other things to focus on. The way these systems are usually supported is no official resourcing, but rather "grab Mark's time when he's in the office."