One of the anchors of our annual Leaders issue is the In Charge list, the definitive who's who of Middle Tennessee's business, political and civic leaders. The roughly 450 women and men on our sixth installment of this list are helping drive progress across Nashville and setting the stage for the rest of us to succeed. They truly are "in charge."

Jeff Balser -- Vice Chancellor of Health Affairs, Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Has achieved more than $130 million in cost savings after layoffs and organizational restructuring. Leading VUMC as it spins off from Vanderbilt University.