IMS Saves E-Gov Startups

On the eve of being acquired itself, Lockheed Martin IMS resurrected major portions of the now-defunct Netgov.com and Carta Inc. by hiring former top executives and employees from the two e-government companies and purchasing proprietary software from Netgov.

IMS hired 36 people from Netgov and Carta, including Stephen Goldsmith, former Netgov chairman; Mitch Roob, former Netgov chief executive officer; Steve Waldon, former Netgov chief operating officer; and Chris Roberts, former Carta chief executive officer.

Goldsmith will lead strategic initiatives and e-government efforts for IMS, according to the company. He is a former mayor of Indianapolis and was the chief domestic policy adviser to President Bush during his 2000 campaign.

IMS paid $500,000 for software that can Web-enable government-to-citizen services and will accept online payments, said John Brophy, IMS' president and chief executive officer.

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. of Dallas subsequently purchased IMS for $825 million July 19.