Ben Bernanke
ECONOMIST, BROOKINGS INSTITUTE
Innovation:
Led the U.S. economy through the Great Recession.
Vision:
When the U.S. economy crashed, Ben Bernanke, now a Brookings Institution fellow, was chairman of the Federal Reserve System. He spent years guiding the country through its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Economics:
Bernanke is regarded as one of the brightest economic minds in the country. In addition to leading the country out of the Great Recession, he made the Federal Reserve more accountable to the public.