Leslie Picker joined CNBC in February 2017 as a reporter covering hedge funds, private equity and asset management. She is based at CNBC Global Headquarters, and her reporting appears on television and CNBC’s digital platforms.

Picker has interviewed some of the most prominent investors on CNBC, including Citadel’s Ken Griffin, Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn, Omega Advisors’ Leon Cooperman and Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman. Her investigation into Puerto Rico’s debt crisis won a Society for Advanced Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) award and was a finalist for a Gerald Loeb Award in 2018.

Previously, Picker was a reporter at The New York Times where she covered deals. Her beat encompassed mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, venture capital, private equity, restructuring and shareholder activism. Prior to The New York Times, Picker was a reporter at Bloomberg News where she reported on initial public offerings. There, she also contributed to Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Radio. Prior to becoming a reporter, Picker was a segment producer for Bloomberg Television. She began her career as a booker at Fox Business Network.

Picker graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science. She also earned a master’s in journalism from Columbia University, graduating with honors, and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business, with a concentration in finance.