Emilio T. Gonzalez was born in Havana, Cuba, and moved to Tampa, Florida with his family at age four—making him a first-generation Cuban-American. He attended the University of South Florida, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in International Studies and becoming a member of USF's inaugural ROTC program, where he was commissioned as an Army Second Lieutenant in Field Artillery. His military service spanned 26 years across multiple career tracks. As an artillery officer and later as a military intelligence specialist, he was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii, served within the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington D.C., and held diplomatic assignments as U.S. Army Attaché in El Salvador and later in Mexico. He also served on the teaching faculty at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he instructed the next generation of Army officers. Beyond operational commands, he served as Military/Political Advisor to the Commanding General of the United States Southern Command and as Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs on the National Security Council at the White House during the George W. Bush Administration. He retired from active duty with the rank of Colonel.

Following his federal government service, Gonzalez was appointed Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services—a Senate-confirmed, Under Secretary-level position within the Department of Homeland Security. USCIS is a major federal agency with over 18,000 personnel and a multi-billion dollar annual operating budget responsible for all immigration benefits processing and policy implementation. In this role, Gonzalez testified before Congress on immigration and border security matters and served as the Bush administration's senior immigration official. After his DHS service, he became U.S. CEO of Indra Systems, a Spain-based international technology corporation, navigating complex international business operations and government relations at the corporate level. He then served as Director and CEO of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, overseeing Miami International Airport and four additional general aviation facilities. Under his leadership, MIA grew from 40+ to 110+ international air carriers—the highest number of any U.S. airport at the time—and he spearheaded a $6.5 billion capital improvement program, established MIA as a duty-free zone, created an air pharmaceutical hub, and developed e-commerce infrastructure. In 2018, he was appointed City Manager of the City of Miami, where he led an award-winning team that upgraded the city's bond ratings to the highest in city history, facilitated billions in investment and economic growth, reduced crime to historic lows, established the lowest property tax millage rate in recent memory, and created an operating budget lower than the previous year while expanding municipal services. For his municipal leadership, he received the Lloyd D. Gladfelter Award for Innovation in Government, awarded jointly by the University of South Florida and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Gonzalez holds advanced degrees reflecting his international and strategic focus: a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from Tulane University, a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and a Ph.D. in International Studies from the University of Miami, where he was recognized for academic achievement. He also holds Honorary Doctorates in Education from Miami Dade College and in Business from Florida Memorial University. His military decorations include the Parachutist Badge and the Presidential Service Badge. He has been decorated by the Governments of Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, and Colombia. He was honored with the "Great Immigrant/Great American" Award by the Carnegie Corporation (Foundation) of New York. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Knight of Honor and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, serves on the Advisory Board of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, is a Florida Member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, and serves on the Board of Advisors of the Vandenberg Coalition. He was appointed to the five-member State of Florida Treasury Investment Council by Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis in March 2024, and in September 2024 was appointed by Speaker of the Florida House Paul Renner to the Florida Defense Support Commission. In his current private capacity, he serves as Senior Advisor to Ducenta Squared Asset Management, a global fixed-income asset management firm managing approximately $4 billion in assets under management, and as Partner at RSMD Investco LLC. He is fluent in Spanish and maintains deep relationships across Latin American government, defense, and business leadership.