Update | US Fed chief Janet Yellen seen holding dovish bent
Former professor who currently serves as the central bank's deputy chairwoman favours higher employment over lower inflation
Janet Yellen, US President Barack Obama's pick to lead the Federal Reserve, combines a solid reputation as an economist with a keen interest in communication - fitting for someone who once joked that her dinner guests should expect a discussion of economics.
Yellen, a former professor who is currently the Fed's deputy chairwoman, has a reputation as one of the central bank's most employment-focused officials and has also been at the forefront of a communications "revolution" at the once-secretive Fed.
She has been a close ally of chairman Ben Bernanke as he took the central bank further and further into unfamiliar terrain in order to boost the US economy, backing three rounds of bond buying that have swelled the Fed's balance sheet to more than US$3.6 trillion.
Nominated by US President Barack Obama on Wednesday, the white-haired Yellen will be the first woman to head the Fed in its 100-year history.
She played a big role in the Fed's adoption of a 2 per cent inflation target and its decision to treat undershooting and overshooting that target as equally problematic.
Like many Fed officials, Yellen, who counts hiking and cooking among her hobbies, says that ensuring that the public and financial markets understand the central bank's plans is critical in making those policies effective.