This image features ben bernanke former chairman of the u S Federal reserve captured during a formal testimony before congress in the late 2000s His composed and reflective demeanor underscores the gravity of the period the 2008 global financial crisis one of the most turbulent eras in modern economic history As the head of the worlds most influential central bank bernanke was instrumental in deploying unprecedented monetary policy tools including quantitative easing qe and emergency lending programs to prevent systemic collapse and restore market confidence