iPad is not in the list of "standard" hardware for my company (with thousands of developers and a good balance sheet). Good luck getting that approved as an exception.
there are plenty of companies where the thought of an exception, let alone such a restriction, is entirely alien. in part because it would take many of these companies, combined, to match the furniture/head count of full corpo.
you also are ignoring the non-technical leadership class. there are plenty of exceptions in full corpo. clearly you weren’t special enough to get one on a whim. no judgement there, never was myself.
iPad is not in the list of "standard" hardware for my company (with thousands of developers and a good balance sheet). Good luck getting that approved as an exception.