Zain Asher – Keynote Speaker

Zain Asher is an anchor for CNN International based in New York. She currently anchors “CNN Newsroom” on Fridays and Saturdays and can be seen filling in on the network’s premier business shows, “Quest Means Business” and “CNNMoney.” She also hosts “Marketplace Africa,” CNNI’s weekly business program about the continent and its place within global markets, for which she regularly interviews CEOs and world leaders.

Asher has anchored a number of breaking news stories for the network, including the 2016 Christmas market attack in Berlin, the terror explosions in St. Petersburg, Russia, the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and the landmark Paris climate accord.

In 2017, Zain Asher anchored a three-day special as part of CNN’s Freedom Project, highlighting the plight of human trafficking victims and international efforts to eradicate modern-day slavery. She has also hosted special programming in the aftermath of the deaths of Fidel Castro, boxing legend Muhammad Ali and singer George Michael. Asher has also covered a number of high-profile stories from the field, including the 2014 kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria and the 2013 terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon.

She previously served as a CNN business correspondent covering the stock market from the NYSE, U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy and high-profile IPOs. She has interviewed various notable figures across various industries including Arianna Huffington, Trevor Noah, Academy Award winning actress Julianne Moore, Joe Montana, Carlos Slim Jr, Naomi Campbell, countless CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and several heads of state.

In addition, she has hosted several panel discussions at the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, Make A Wish Foundation and her recent TED talk on overcoming adversity has garnered more than 1.3 million views.

Zain Asher joined CNN from MONEY magazine where she covered careers and investing. Prior to MONEY, Asher was a general assignment reporter for News 12 in the New York area.

Born and raised in London, Asher graduated from Oxford University where she studied French and Spanish and graduated with a distinction in oral Spanish. In 2006, she earned an MS from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.