Utah CIO Val Oveson was at Federal Computer Week's Government CIO Summit in Amelia Island, Fla last week and got himself quoted. In a discussion about the relationship between CIOs and CFOs, Val said:

Val Oveson, Utah's CIO, took the debate one step further, saying a department's chief executive officer should be the CIO. The CEO has the best grasp on an organization's business and vision, he said.

I think Val's on to something. Blending the CEO and CIO roles makes more sense than blending the CIO and CFO roles in my opinion. That certainly would be a big change here in Utah where most department executive directors are uninvolved and uninterested in IT.