What’s The Difference Between A CIO And A CTO?

I mean, besides that middle letter. Or is that the only difference?

I’ve always thought of Chief Information Officers and Chief Technology Officers like lions and tigers:

1. Similar in species and temperament
2. Each the master of its domain

But separated by a geographic distance that represents the difference between strategy and tactics, applications and theory, projects and product testing.

The reason I ask is because I recently ran across an item from the Government Printing Office, the agency responsible for printing and disseminating documents related to the function of the federal government, such as the Congressional Record and the Federal Register, among many, many others.

The government printing office said in a statement that its CIO, Reynold Schweickhardt, will now become its chief technology officer and its CTO, Michael Wash, will become its CIO.

Simple as that, eh? Just switch those middle letters.

How fortunate the GPO is to have two people flexible enough to be willing to trade places like that.

What are the difficulties involved in such a switch?

I assume there are salary considerations - certainly there would be in the private sector - as well as management challenges, such as adjusting for leadership styles.

What about vendor relationships, or strengths and weaknesses technology-wise? Office politics?

I’d like to know just how common it is for a CIO and a CTO to exchange jobs. Have you ever done it, or know of someone who has?