A’ndre Gonawela

A’ndre Gonawela is a fellow with the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he examines emerging technologies and their implications for national security, economic security, and strategic competition. Prior to joining CSIS, Gonawela was a senior associate at The Asia Group, where he analyzed geopolitical, economic, and security developments across the Indo-Pacific to inform strategic decisionmaking. He led the firm’s flagship daily intelligence briefing and produced analysis on U.S. foreign policy, great power competition, trade, defense, and technology. Previously, Gonawela worked at BMNT, supporting U.S. Navy initiatives to identify, evaluate, and adopt emerging and dual-use technologies. His work included technology scouting, defense innovation, and collaboration with government and industry stakeholders to address operational challenges. Gonawela is also the cofounder and host of The Burn Bag, a national security and foreign policy podcast featuring hundreds of conversations with former heads of state and government, former CIA directors, defense secretaries, senior diplomats, military leaders, and scholars. He holds an MPP and a certificate in global conflict studies from the University of Chicago and a BA in public policy from the University of Michigan.