Markos Kounalakis is a syndicated journalist, foreign affairs analyst, and scholar. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, where he researches media effects on global affairs. Kounalakis also holds the title of California's first "Second Gentleman."

Previously, Kounalakis's globally syndicated weekly foreign affairs column ran in The Miami Herald and all 30 McClatchy newspapers nationwide until 2021.