NIC board appoints Herington CEO

Harry Herington, president of NIC Inc., has been named chief executive officer of the e-government services company.

Herington replaces Jeff Fraser, who will continue to serve as chairman of the board, the company said Feb. 6. Herington has served as president since 2006 and has held a number of leadership positions at the company since he joined it in 1995, including chief operating officer.

The change at the top of the publicly traded company comes in the wake of a review by the audit committee of NIC's board of directors that focused on the reimbursement of expenses by Fraser and other executive officers, the company said. The review, which was conducted with the assistance of an independent third party, covered from Jan. 1, 2004, through June 30, 2007.

In the aftermath of the review, Fraser reimbursed the company about $97,000 in expenses, in addition to the $187,000 reimbursed by him before the review began. The reimbursement was made to correct expense reporting that was inconsistent with the company's expense reimbursement policy at the time. The auditors found that Fraser was the only person who needed to make restitution.

Fraser co-founded the company in 1992 and served as CEO through 1999. Following a subsequent acquisition-based expansion strategy that placed NIC's future growth at risk, the board asked Fraser to return as CEO in May 2002. He subsequently launched a turnaround plan focused on the company's core portal business and returned NIC to profitability, the company said.

In 2002 and 2003, Fraser received only $1 in annual salary, and $5,500 a year for 2004 and 2005 to cover medical expenses. In 2006, NIC's board raised his salary to $325,000 as the company completed its turnaround.

NIC of Olathe, Kan., provides e-government services and support to about 2,600 state and local agencies.