“CIO” stands for “Chief Information Officer,” “Chief Investment Officer” or ‘Chief Innovation Officer.” “CIO Is Starting to Stand for ‘Career Is Over’” is the title of an article that was published in Business Week on February 26, 1990. The article pointed out that CIOs (chief information officers) didn’t stay employed for very long and that some companies didn’t think much of the CIO position.
 
“CIO” remains a popular position, but the nickname “Career Is Over” is still frequently used.
 
   
Wiktionary: CIO
Initialism
CIO
1. chief information officer
2. chief investment officer
3. chief innovation officer
4. (US, labor union) Congress of Industrial Organizations
 
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26 February 1990, Business Week, pg. 78:
CIO IS STARTING TO STAND FOR ‘CAREER IS OVER’
Once deemed indispensable, the Chief Information Officer has become an endangered species
 
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April 1990, CIO, “Letter from the Editor,” pg. 4, col. 1:
Now that information executive finally seem to have gotten used to the CIO acronym, BusinessWeek has declared that they and their title may be headed for the dust heap. In a recent article entitled, “CIO is Starting to Stand For ‘Career Is Over,’” BusinessWeek reported that CIOs were becoming highly dispensable. The article presented a gloomy scenario of CIO failure, but halfway through the piece reversed that position, stating instead that within five years every major firm would have a CIO who is a peer to the CEO.
 
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February 1994, CIO, “The Truth about Turnover” by Mickey Williamson, pg. 40, col. 1:
Revolving door? What revolving door? Who says that CIO stands for Career Is Over? What’s wrong with a job that lasts five years, pays well and, as often as not, leads to something better?
 
Twitter
wellick
‏@wellick
CIO: Career Is Over
3:07 PM - 19 Nov 2007
 
Twitter
John Gallaugher
‏@gallaugher
CIO = “Career Is Over” was your Mom & Dad’s era.  Now if you’re not a biz-geek, you’re nobody - see Fortune: http://tinyurl.com/c3llkv
8:59 AM - 13 Feb 2009
 
Google Books
Looking Back and Going Forward in IT
By Jean-Pierre Cornio
Newport Beach, CA: ISTE USA
2006
Pg. ?:
it has been suggested that Chief Information Officers” beloved “CIO” abbreviation in fact stands for “Chief of Impossible Operations”, or, worse still, “Career Is Over”
 
Google Books
The CIO Handbook: How to Avoid Having CIO Mean Career Is Over
Francis (“Fran”) Dramis
Booklogix Publishing Services, Feb 24, 2011 - 75 pages
So you’ve been promoted to CIO. Congratulations! Now what? How do you keep from validating the old adage that CIO actually means “career is over”? In this book, Fran Dramis provides insights from his own career experiences - as well as relevant ideas for your To Do list - to ensure that you are successful in your new position. Included are practical strategies you can use, beginning with your first day on the job.
 
IT World Canada
CIOs and CEOs: What does success look like from a leadership perspective?
By Gary Davenport
Published: September 26th, 2014
How must the CIO and CEO relationship evolve to become more collaborative and mutually beneficial?
Have you heard this old joke before? “What does CIO stand for? Answer: Career Is Over.”