Unisys mourns loss of longtime exec Mark Cohn
By
Nick Wakeman
Longtime Unisys Corp. executive Mark Cohn has died at age 66 after a battle with lung cancer.
Long-time Unisys Corp. executive Mark Cohn, 66, died from lung cancer on July 14.
More recently, he was chief technology officer for Unisys' federal business. But he played a broader role in the government community as a cybersecurity expert and well-respected and recognized leader.
In 2013, Cohn received a Federal 100 award from Washington Technology sibling publication FCW for his role in supporting mission-critical mobile solutions for his government customers. He also was cited for his work with the IT organizations such as AFCEA International, the Northern Virginia Technology Council and ACT-IAC.
He was often quoted in our publications because of his cybersecurity expertise and his ability to see the bigger picture. It was never a pitch about how great his company was. In talking to Cohn, his focus was always on the government customer, their challenges and what the industry should be doing to support them.
According to his obituary, Cohn began making an impact from early in his career at Unisys when he was the principal designer and chief engineer for a nationwide critical command and control capabilities for air traffic control.
He also shaped the concepts of integrated security and digital trust as foundations of Unisys’ next generation cybersecurity approach.
Cohn also served as the Unisys executive on the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.
In 2019, Unisys named him as the first Unisys Associate of the Year to recognize his service, leadership and dedication to his customers and his co-workers. The annual award will now be known as the Unisys Corporation Mark L. Cohn Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor the company gives its employees.
"Mark was an iconic figure at Unisys," said Unisys Chairman and CEO Peter Altabef. "He was more than admired and respected. He was cherished."
Cohn was born April 13, 1953, and was the son of the late Dr. Bertram D. Cohn, a pediatric surgeon, and Dr. Arline Cohn, a professor emeritus of biology. He was educated at MIT, the University of Maryland in College Park, and American University.
In addition to his mother, he is survived by his wife of 38 years, Cindy; a daughter Emily (Chris) of Silver Spring, Maryland, and a son, Matthew (Jennifer) of Wellesley, Mass. Also surviving are his siblings, Jonathan (Anita) of Chapel Hill, N.C., Jeanne Cohn-Connor of Washington, D.C., and Susan (Peter) of Glastonbury, Conn. He also has five grandchildren and five nieces.
A celebration of life will be at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 26, 2019 at the River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation at 6301 River Road, Bethesda, Maryland, 20817. In lieu of flowers, charitable contributions can be made to any charity in Mark's honor, including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Donations can be made through the Pan Mass Challenge with 100 percent of every donation provided to the DFCI. Mark's son, Matthew, is dedicating this year's ride to Mark and others impacted by cancer.
A link to Matthew's PMC donation page can be found at http://pmc.org/MC0669.I