Zain Asher


Zain Ejiofor Asher is a British Nigerian news anchor at CNN International who is based in New York City.
She currently anchors the weekend edition of CNN Newsroom, and can regularly be seen filling in on the network's premier business programs, Quest Means Business, The Express and First Move with Julia Chatterley.
Asher also hosts Marketplace Africa, CNNI's weekly business show about the continent and its place within global markets, and often interviews CEOs and world leaders for the program.
She has anchored CNN's special coverage around #MyFreedomDay, a global call to action that raised awareness of modern-day slavery all over the world, as well as the deaths of Fidel Castro, boxing legend Muhammad Ali and singer George Michael.
In addition to anchoring major breaking news stories for CNN, she has reported from the field on high-profile stories like the 2014 kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria, and the 2013 terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon.
Asher previously served as a CNN business correspondent covering the stock market from the New York Stock Exchange, U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy and high-profile IPOs.
In 2013, 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 greater 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.
She is fluent in French, Spanish and Ibo.
She anchors CNN Newsroom on CNN International and previously, Asher co-anchored CNN Newsroom on CNN America. She has also worked as a business correspondent in New York City. In addition to financial reporting for CNN, she also had a monthly column in Money Magazine.

Early life and education

Born in Balham, London Borough of Wandsworth, England, to Nigerian parents, Asher is the younger sister of actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. She is of Igbo descent; her family originated in Ezeagu LGA, Enugu state, Nigeria.
Asher was graduated from Keble College at Oxford University in 2005 with a degree in Spanish and French. The following year, she was graduated from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, in New York city.

Early career

Prior to joining CNN in February 2013, Asher was a full-time reporter for Money, where she wrote personal finance articles. Asher also was a TV reporter at News 12 Brooklyn, reporting from Brooklyn, the Bronx and Connecticut.