Unisys Corporation announced the appointment of Claudius O. Sokenu as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary. He will lead Unisys’ global legal, corporate secretary and ethics and compliance functions. He will report to Unisys Chair and Chief Executive Officer Peter Altabef.
Sokenu joins Unisys from Cognizant, a Fortune 200 information technology company, where he served as senior vice president, global deputy general counsel and chief of staff to the general counsel. Prior to joining Cognizant, Sokenu served as deputy general counsel, global head of ethics and compliance and global head of litigation and investigations at Andeavor, a then-Fortune 100 energy company. Previously, he was a partner with three Am Law 100 law firms: Shearman & Sterling, Arnold & Porter and Mayer Brown. Earlier in his career, Sokenu served in the Honors Program at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, first as a staff attorney before concluding his government service as senior counsel. He is a fellow with the American College of Governance Counsel.
Sokenu earned an LL.M in securities and financial regulation from Georgetown University Law Center, where he has also taught classes as an adjunct professor, an LL.M in corporate and commercial law from the University of London’s London School of Economics and King’s College London and an LL.B with Upper Class Honors from London South Bank University.
He succeeds Gerry Kenney, 70, who is retiring from Unisys effective April 30 after nearly nine years with the company.
“Claudius brings significant in-house, private practice and government legal experience to Unisys. Beyond his legal experience, Claudius possesses both the personal skills and gravitas that have been hallmarks of our general counsel, and I am excited to welcome him to the company,” said Altabef. “I would also like to thank Gerry for his many years of exceptional service to Unisys. Gerry has been masterful at forging and maintaining a strong sense of partnership with our businesses and leaders. I will miss both his wise counsel and good humor.”
