Ali Velshi CNN’s Chief Business Correspondent, New York, New York from Kenya

Connecting the news through finance, global issues, contemporary governance, education and big ideas, CNN’s Ali Velshi executes several roles across CNN as the network’s chief business correspondent, anchor of CNN Newsroom, host of Your $$$$$ and host of the "Ali V" podcast.

In addition to his anchor responsibilities, Velshi frequently reports from the field on breaking news events, politics, and in-depth personal profiles that offer insights into national issues. In 2010, he covered the impact of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, including exclusive access with the U.S. Coast Guard on a controlled oil burn. He profiled a homeowner for several weeks who navigated Philadelphia’s mandatory court program, hoping to save his home from foreclosure. He spoke with Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent and Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno in their first television interview together about Operation Haiti Hope, a significant non-aid investment into Haiti after the devastating earthquake. He uncovered everything it takes to fly the friendly skies with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to United Airlines’ Operations Control Center in Chicago. He has extensively reported on the global financial meltdown since 2008; the financial collapses of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG and Lehman Brothers; the U.S. government’s bailout plan; and the battle over the fate of the nation’s big three automakers.

Velshi’s guests range from Joanne Herring, the Houston business woman and socialite portrayed by Julia Roberts in Charlie Wilson’s War, to White House Economic Advisor Austan Goolsbee, to musician and AIDS activist Annie Lennox, to Dr. Maya Angelou, to Ford CEO Alan Mulally, to 11 year old Marcelas Owens, a health care reform activist who lost his mother and stood next to President Barack Obama as he signed the health care reform bill.

Velshi’s in-depth reporting for CNN’s “How The Wheels Came Off” was honored with a National Headliner Award for Business & Consumer Reporting in 2010. He anchored CNN’s breaking news coverage of the attempted terror attack on a flight into Detroit, delivering CNN’s worldwide newsgathering for which the network was nominated for a 2010 Emmy. He was also honored with a 2010 Alumni Achievement Award from his alma mater, Queen’s University.

Previously, Velshi was an anchor with CNNfn, where he hosted various interactive shows, including Your Money, Business Unusual, Insights, Street Sweep and The Money Gang. Before joining CNNfn in 2001, he hosted The Business News, Canada’s first and only prime-time business news hour, airing nightly on Report on Business Television.

Earlier in his career, Velshi worked as a business anchor for Cable Pulse 24 and sister station, CITY TV in Toronto, and as a reporter for CFTO-TV in Toronto, Canada’s most watched local television station.

In 1996, Velshi was awarded a fellowship to the U.S. Congress by the American Political Sciences Association, and worked with now-retired U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton, (D-Ind.)

Born in Kenya and raised in Toronto, Velshi graduated from Queens University in Canada with a degree in religion. He is a member of the Grand Challenges Advisor Committee for the National Academy of Engineering. Velshi’s first book, Gimme My Money Back: Your Guide to Beating the Financial Crisis, was released in January 2009.



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