Unisys Federal Systems Appoints New Leaders for Civilian Agencies, Homeland Security and Sales

Unisys Corporation announced two new appointments to the Unisys Federal Systems leadership team, as well as new roles for three members of the organization's existing senior management team. 

Elizabeth Smith joins Unisys Federal Systems as vice president of sales. She will lead the organization's sales force, working to advance a consultative sales culture across the organization and drive Unisys business growth across the entire federal market. She will also manage the Unisys Government Wide Acquisition Contract Center.

Smith comes to Unisys from Dell, where she served as executive vice president of sales for Dell's federal government services business. Previously, Smith managed her own consulting practice and held senior positions at EDS and Booz Allen & Hamilton.

Anthony C. Hess, Ph.D., has been appointed managing partner of the healthcare and natural resources group within Unisys Federal Systems. In this role, he will lead the Unisys business in the departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Commerce, Energy and Transportation, as well as NASA.

Most recently, Hess was senior vice president and general manager for the health solutions business unit at Science Applications International Corporation. Previously, he served as CEO of HealthCare IT Inc., and president and chief operating officer of Capital Information Services. Hess also has held management positions at IBM.

Smith and Hess report to Ted Davies, president of Unisys Federal Systems.

In addition to the hiring of Smith and Hess, three members of the Unisys Federal Systems leadership team - also reporting to Davies - have new roles. Venkatapathi "PV" Puvvada was named managing partner of the justice, finance and administration group. In this role, he will lead the Unisys business in the Departments of Justice, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development as well the General Services Administration, the Small Business Administration and federal financial agencies.

Most recently, Puvvada served as Unisys Federal Systems' managing partner for horizontal services and chief technology officer. Last year Puvvada was named CTO Innovator of the Year in the large business category by the Northern Virginia Technology Council and Washington Technology magazine.

Steve Soroka, who was managing partner of homeland security group, now leads Unisys business with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as well as work that Unisys performs for U.S. airports and seaports. Most recently Soroka led Unisys' work with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard. He also previously held leadership positions at Westinghouse, Iridium and Sprint Nextel.

Gene Zapfel, who was managing partner of portfolio solutions, now leads a team within Unisys Federal Systems that identifies, builds and delivers technology solutions to customers across the federal market. Zapfel joined Unisys five years ago, most recently serving as a partner managing Unisys work at a number of civilian agencies. He brings more than 25 years of experience to his new role and was instrumental in the conceptualization and launch of the Unisys Application Modernization Center of Excellence in St. Louis in 2010.

Jim Geiger, managing partner, defense and intelligence group, continues to lead Unisys work for the U.S. Department of Defense and Intelligence organizations.

"I am pleased to welcome Elizabeth Smith and Tony Hess to the Unisys Federal Systems team," Davies said. "The addition of these two respected industry leaders - as well as the new roles of several veteran members of our leadership team - positions Unisys for continued innovation and growth across federal civilian, defense, intelligence and homeland security agencies."

Featured

  • The Future of Access Control: Cloud-Based Solutions for Safer Workplaces

    Access controls have revolutionized the way we protect our people, assets and operations. Gone are the days of cumbersome keychains and the security liabilities they introduced, but it’s a mistake to think that their evolution has reached its peak. Read Now

  • A Look at AI

    Large language models (LLMs) have taken the world by storm. Within months of OpenAI launching its AI chatbot, ChatGPT, it amassed more than 100 million users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history. Read Now

  • First, Do No Harm: Responsibly Applying Artificial Intelligence

    It was 2022 when early LLMs (Large Language Models) brought the term “AI” into mainstream public consciousness and since then, we’ve seen security corporations and integrators attempt to develop their solutions and sales pitches around the biggest tech boom of the 21st century. However, not all “artificial intelligence” is equally suitable for security applications, and it’s essential for end users to remain vigilant in understanding how their solutions are utilizing AI. Read Now

  • Improve Incident Response With Intelligent Cloud Video Surveillance

    Video surveillance is a vital part of business security, helping institutions protect against everyday threats for increased employee, customer, and student safety. However, many outdated surveillance solutions lack the ability to offer immediate insights into critical incidents. This slows down investigations and limits how effectively teams can respond to situations, creating greater risks for the organization. Read Now

  • Security Today Announces 2025 CyberSecured Award Winners

    Security Today is pleased to announce the 2025 CyberSecured Awards winners. Sixteen companies are being recognized this year for their network products and other cybersecurity initiatives that secure our world today. Read Now

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.