David McKenzie

David McKenzie is the communications director at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) where he leads a team of communications and event professionals that strategically highlights CNAS’ groundbreaking research and analysis to its influential audience of policymakers, professionals, and the wider public.

McKenzie comes 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.

Prior to CNN, McKenzie helped launch the innovative UNICEF Africa Services Unit—a full-service communications hub for UN country offices across the continent.

McKenzie has degrees in public policy and psychology from Duke University and a master’s in journalism from New York University where he was on a full scholarship.

He is an avid birdwatcher.