Category: Companies with fewer than 7,500 employees

Title: Executive Vice President of Cultural Enhancement

Company: Umpqua Bank

Headquarters: Portland, Ore.

Key HR Challenges: Communicating and maintaining Umpqua Bank's creative and individualistic culture at every level of the bank. She begins the effort during the merger-and-acquisition process, and continues reinforcing the values through training and on-site meetings.

Key HR Accomplishments: Baker shepherded cultural values through an explosive growth period, in which the bank expanded from six branches to 150, and staff grew from about 350 to 1,800. She helped to establish Umpqua Bank's ranking as No. 13 among Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2008.