President Shirley Ann Jackson has announced that Craig A. Cook has been appointed as general counsel and Secretary of the Institute for Rensselaer. He will begin employment with the Institute on June 15.
Cook currently serves as an associate general counsel for intellectual property at IBM Corporation, leading a global team of intellectual property attorneys. Cook has more than 25 of service with IBM, and has held several global legal leadership roles at IBM. He has worked with IBM’s senior leadership, advising on, and managing a broad array of significant legal and compliance matters.
Cook possesses a deep understanding of the technology industry, with particular expertise in intellectual property, commercial transactions, government affairs, compliance strategy, operations, and organizational management. In 2001, he was promoted to senior counsel to help lead the legal work for IBM’s Systems & Technology Group. Beginning in 2007, Cook served as the chief counsel for both the Microelectronics and Research Divisions of IBM, where he led a team of attorneys and an administrative support staff. In 2012, he assumed the role of a trust and compliance officer, driving and implementing compliance programs globally for IBM, with a particular focus on anti-corruption and anti-fraud processes in connection with third-party distributors and suppliers.
Cook possesses a deep understanding of the technology industry, with particular expertise in intellectual property, commercial transactions, government affairs, compliance strategy, operations, and organizational management.
Prior to joining IBM, Cook spent approximately five years in the Minneapolis law firm of Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly, where he represented clients in commercial and employment matters in both federal and state courts. He joined the Oppenheimer firm after serving a one-year appointment as a judicial law clerk for the Chief Judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
He earned a Juris Doctorate degree with Highest Distinction from the University of Iowa, College of Law, and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance with High Distinction from the University of Iowa, Tippie College of Business.
“I am delighted that Mr. Cook will be taking this important position,” said President Jackson. “The breadth and depth of his extensive experience in the technology industry will elevate the management of Institutional intellectual property law and compliance strategy. He will play a valuable role as Rensselaer continues to gain prominence in the 21st century as a top-tier, world-class technological research university with global reach and global impact. Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Mr. Cook as he joins our community.”