Eleni Giokos

Anchor and Correspondent

Eleni Giokos is a CNN anchor and correspondent based in Dubai.
CNN Expansion, Eleni Giokos

About

Eleni Giokos is a CNN anchor and correspondent, based in Dubai. A regular anchor across CNN’s news and business programming, she also presents the network’s Connecting Africa and Marketplace Middle East feature shows.

Born in Greece and raised in South Africa, she has more than 15 years’ experience working across TV, digital, radio and print media. One of CNN’s most versatile correspondents, she joined the network in 2015.

Giokos has interviewed heads of state including former South African President, Jacob Zuma and former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan. Her list of business and economic interviews includes the likes of International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva; ECB president, Christine Lagarde; and Virgin founder, Richard Branson; as well as a ‘who’s who?’ of Africa’s most prominent business leaders, including Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu, Patrice Motsepe, and the late Bob Collymore.

At CNN she has reported on the ground across Africa, from Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Zimbabwe, to Rwanda, Senegal, Ghana, Lesotho and more. She has highlighted the growing links between Africa and Asia, reporting from South Korea and Kazakhstan, traveled to the United States to report from Washington DC, and anchored shows from the network’s London, New York and Atlanta hubs.

Giokos began her career at CNBC Africa in 2005, before joining 24-hour news channel, eNCA, as an anchor and correspondent. There she covered business stories as well as breaking news – including the killing of Reeva Steenkamp by Oscar Pistorius and the Westgate Mall attack.

She has reported from key global events such as the World Economic Forum in Davos and the United Nations General Assembly, and chaired debates at Davos, WEF Africa, the IMF, African Finance Corporation and the Africa CEO Forum.

Giokos hosted the NBA’s pioneering visit to Johannesburg in 2017, and has interviewed NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, Toronto Raptors President, Masai Ujiri, as well as basketball legends, Bismack Biyombo and Dikembe Mutombo.

Elsewhere, she has contributed regularly to South Africa’s Mail and Guardian newspaper, worked as a motivational speaker at public schools, and trained aspiring journalism students.

Giokos has an Honors Degree in Journalism and Media Studies from the University of Witwatersrand, and was made an International Monetary Fund Fellow in 2014.