Roper has served as a director of VeriSign since November 2003, and will now become a full-time employee of VeriSign. He most recently served as executive VP of technology services company Science Applications International.

He also served as SAIC's chief financial officer from 1990 to 2000, and played a leadership role in Network Solutions from the time of its acquisition by SAIC in 1995 until its merger into VeriSign in 2000.

"The board remains committed to our strategy, and is pleased with the early results of the restructuring program we began this year," says Roper. "I look forward to working with VeriSign's management team to capitalize on the company’s growth opportunities while ensuring the strongest possible emphasis on managerial discipline and execution."

VeriSign announced last month it would raise registry fees for both domains later this year, following last year's finalization of its renegotiated deal with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.