On Wednesday, I reported that Gaylord Entertainment had appointed its third CIO (Rich Maradik) in five years.  An astute reader e-mailed me to inquire about the high CIO turnover at the Nashville-based hospitality company. He wondered if the reporting relationship was to blame. 

“I have no idea why they have the turnover they have,” this reader wrote to me. “But one thing struck me immediately. The position reports to the CFO.  It is usually the kiss of death, not always, but usually. Is CFO David Kloeppel the "constant" in the equation?”

Upon reading his e-mail, I had one of those ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ moments. So I did some quick research to see if I could confirm this reader’s theory. The press releases I found announcing Gaylord’s previous CIOs, Rickie Hall and Karen Spacek, didn’t identify to whom they reported.  Does anyone else want to speculate on the reason for the high CIO turnover rate at Gaylord, or iother companies? Use the feedback form to share your thoughts, or to demonize CFOs.  I should note that CIO’s most recent State of the CIO research shows that the average tenure of a CIO today to be close to five years. It also showed more and more CIOs reporting to the CEO, not the CFO.

While you’re pondering CIO tenure and turnover rates, here are a few new CIO announcements:

United Rentals hired James Milde as its SVP and CIO.  He most recently worked for Sony Electronics as its senior general manager and CIO.  He also previously served as Pepsi Bottling Group’s SVP and CIO.

Angelo Mazzocco joined workers comp provider Progressive Medical as its new CIO.  He comes to the Westerville, Ohio-based company from The Dispatch Printing Company and Affiliates, where he served as vice president and CIO.

AppOne, an auto financing technology solutions provider, promoted Param Ramakrishnan to CIO. 

Don’t forget: Use the feedback form and share your thoughts on CIO turnover and tenure!