Barry Pavel is a RAND vice president, and director of the RAND National Security Research Division (NSRD). He also directs the National Defense Research Institute (NDRI), a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) within NSRD whose sponsors include the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense intelligence enterprise.

Before joining RAND, Pavel was founding director of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council. While at the Council, Pavel was known for his contributions in the areas of strategy and foresight, geopolitics, adapting America’s alliances, and realigning U.S. defense strategy and capabilities. Before that, he was special assistant to the president and senior director for defense strategy and policy on the National Security Council (NSC) for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Pavel has worked in the field of national security for more than three decades. He held senior positions at the Department of Defense before taking on his roles at the NSC and the Atlantic Council. Throughout his career, Pavel has been widely recognized as a leader and important voice on national security policy. He is also known as a generous mentor and effective collaborator.

Pavel's own research interests span a wide range of areas, including geopolitics, national security strategy, Indo-Pacific and trans-Atlantic security, economic security, and U.S. global defense posture. Pavel earned MPA and M.A. degrees from Princeton University and an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics/economics from Brown University.