2014 Game Changer: Eric Barger

While there is no single recipe for building a talent management strategy, Eric Barger knows how to blend a dash of this and a spoonful of that to cook up a successful vision for spice- and herb-maker McCormick & Co.’s human resources department.

While head chef of HR may be more accurate, Barger, 38, is vice president of global talent management for the Maryland-based company, which employs 10,500 people. And rather than heat and serve up mere transactional HR, Barger prefers to bake in strategy.

“Across HR industries, the HR function is continuously evolving from ‘pair of hands’ to ‘strategic partner,’ ” he wrote. “The new role demands advanced skill sets among practitioners trying to drive change. When I look to the future, I see the most talented and innovative leaders working in HR. This function needs the best and brightest to be responsible for a company’s greatest asset — its people.”