David McKenzie

David McKenzie is vice president of strategy and communications at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), where he serves on the executive team and helps shape the Center’s strategic priorities, strengthen its positioning as a leading voice in national security, and deepen its engagement with policymakers, partners and supporters.

McKenzie leads CNAS’s communications and event teams and works across the organization to amplify groundbreaking research and analysis. Together with the team, he has launched several high impact projects including CNAS Insights, an initiative to bring fast paced analysis to a broader policy audience.

McKenzie came to CNAS after an award-winning 16-year career with CNN, most recently as a senior international correspondent and bureau leader based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

His reporting spanned five continents and dozens of countries. Most recently, McKenzie was heavily involved in CNN’s coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where he focused on the impact of the war on civilians, allegations of Russian war crimes, and the experience of regular soldiers.

McKenzie was CNN’s Beijing-based correspondent at a critical period in the country’s history. He reported extensively on Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power, the expansion of China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific, and the burgeoning Chinese space program.

Much of McKenzie’s career at CNN focused on the Global South, with in-depth investigative reporting and analysis from the African continent—in particular, highlighting the competition for influence from outside actors. He started his CNN career as their Nairobi-based correspondent.

McKenzie has won multiple awards for his journalism, including a Royal Television Society Award for breaking news, the Amnesty International Award, and a Peabody for team coverage of the Arab Spring.

He is an avid birdwatcher.