Tolga Gönenli is an international business development executive with over 20 years of experience building cross-border commercial, governmental, and industrial partnerships, with a particular focus on U.S.–EMEA trade in the defense, security, and advanced materials sectors.
His career has been defined by a consistent ability to align foreign companies with the expectations, regulations, and procurement dynamics of the U.S. market. Gönenli has worked extensively with both corporate clients and public agencies, including acting as a long-standing Service Provider to the U.S. Commercial Service, where he facilitated bilateral trade initiatives and compliance with U.S. export regulations, including ITAR and FCPA frameworks.
From 2022 to 2024, Gönenli served as the exclusive U.S. representative of MKE, the Turkish state-owned manufacturer of weapons and ammunition. In this role, he successfully negotiated and retained multi-year sales agreements, ensured operational compliance for U.S. transactions, and coordinated complex supply chains between manufacturing sites and U.S. end users.
Earlier, he owned and led Alternative Trade Strategies Consultancy (ATS), representing U.S. defense and aerospace manufacturers such as ITT Exelis (now L3Harris) and Orbital ATK (now Northrop Grumman). He also coordinated business development for Critical Solutions International, advancing the sale and delivery of counter-IED and route-clearance armored platforms to EMEA defense clients.
Gönenli was the founder and director of EMEA Intelligence, the largest international defense and surveillance technology conference in the Eurasian region. The event was held with the support of the U.S. Commercial Service, the White House (under the administration of the time), and key defense industry stakeholders, and served as a trusted platform for fostering transatlantic cooperation.
In addition to his defense-sector work, Gönenli has played a pivotal role in connecting industrial advanced materials manufacturers from Türkiye and the broader EMEA region with U.S.-based OEMs, facilitating sustainable supply relationships, technology transfer, and facility setup for long-term cooperation.
He also served as official consultant to the Ukrainian Border Guard during a period of heightened geopolitical tension, contributing to infrastructure development and the integration of border security technologies.