Former Aetna And CNA IT Leader Named CIO Of Connecticut

A former CIO at Aetna Inc. will be the new CIO of Connecticut.

Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell on Wednesday tapped Diane Wallace, who also served as VP of IT at CNA Financial Corp., to head the state's Department of Information Technology. The $145,000-a-year post, a Cabinet officer, requires confirmation by the General Assembly.

Wallace, 53, replaces Connecticut's first CIO, Rock Regan, a political associate of former Gov. John Rowland, who was forced to resign last year amid a scandal. Rell, who was Rowland's lieutenant governor, asked a number of Cabinet officials, including Regan, to resign when she became governor. However, Rell requested that Regan stay on for several months as she looked for a new CIO. Regan is former president of the National Association of State CIOs.

Rell has high expectations for Wallace. "Technology is an increasingly important part of state operations, and I know that with Diane's talent and leadership, Connecticut's DOIT can be a national model in making government more accessible, user-friendly, and efficient," Rell said in a statement.

A Boston native, Wallace holds a degree in education from Salem State College in Massachusetts. She joined Aetna shortly after graduating in 1973 and held a variety of positions, rising to CIO, the post she held when she left in 2000 to join CNA Financial. At CNA, she served as VP of IT from 2002 to 2003.