State of California CIO Teri Takai may be in line to become the Department of Defense's next CIO, but Takai isn't ready to admit it. "This is a rumor," Takai says via e-mail. "I have lots to do in California and am working hard at it."Since taking the CIO job in California in late 2007, Takai has been tackling California's many government woes with a major IT transformation effort. Before that, she was CIO of the state of Michigan, taking that job after holding IT management roles at Ford and EDS. Takai was named to InformationWeek's Government CIO 50 last fall.

A Department of Defense spokesman said he had not seen "any official nomination information," and referred me to the White House and its Web site. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Two sources close to the Department of Defense said they had not heard that Takai specifically would be named, though one said that he was told the appointee would be a Washington outsider with CIO experience.

The DoD CIO job has been empty for nearly a year. Several media reports suggest Takai will take that job. Her comment to InformationWeek is neither confirmation, nor denial. She might be a good fit for Washington, after all