How is this for alignment? Eye care company Bausch & Lomb has named Alan Farnsworth as CIO... and Senior Vice President of Customer Service. I've heard of CFOs doubling as CIOs. A COO doubling up on the role would raise no eyebrows here. But customer service?

Farnsworth, who has been with the company since 1998 and has most recently held the position of president of the company's Europe, Middle East, and Asia division, doesn't appear to have a lick of IT experience in his background. Not that a BA in political science is misplaced in your average IT department, mind you. Nor do I necessarily believe that a CIO must be the strongest technologist in the organization... that's what CTOs are for. But one hopes there is something in his background which gives him technology footing sufficient to manage the IT department, lest the appointment be in name only, with most of the focus going to the customer service side of the job (which certainly deserves attention, make no mistake).

I have seen appointments resembling this before, usually when corporate executives don't have a good understanding of the IT department or the role of a CIO. They feel like they need to have one, but aren't sure what exactly the position should do (thus the double billing) and don't really know what to look for when staffing it.

There's always the possibility that Mr. Farnsworth is just a prodigy, with mad skillz developed on his own time, and who can keep all the balls in the air for both positions due to unique temperament and suitability. For the sake of the IT staff at Bausch and Lomb, we'll have to hope that's the case.