Ray Davis, former CEO of Umpqua.

Raymond P. Davis

CEO & President

Ray Davis, president and CEO of Umpqua Holdings Corporation, has been instrumental in Umpqua Bank's rapid growth. Under Davis' leadership, Umpqua has deployed a new approach to financial services that emphasizes cutting edge delivery systems and technologies, in addition to innovative store designs that engage and excite customers. Davis and his teams have reinvented Umpqua Bank's image, building avant-garde mini-banks that are more "bank store" than branch, featuring merchandising, eye catching displays, and computer cafe's.Davis built Umpqua on the belief that a strong culture is a critical part of building a great company, one able to survive and thrive in even the toughest economic environments. The vitality and success of Umpqua's culture has been instrumental in Umpqua's inclusion on FORTUNE Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list for the last four years. In December 2009, Umpqua Bank was recognized by the Portland Business Journal for the fifth year as the Most Admired Financial Services Company in Oregon as voted by Oregon CEOs. And for 12 years, Umpqua Bank has been listed in Oregon Business Magazine's annual survey of "100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon."Davis joined Umpqua Bank in 1994 and has grown the bank from six banking locations and $150 million in assets to 174 stores with $10.5 billion in assets and more than 2,200 associates today. He chronicled this path to expansion and originality in his book, Leading for Growth: How Umpqua Bank Got Cool and Created a Culture of Greatness, which has been praised by business publications and leaders for its clear-cut take on innovative leadership. Leading for Growth uses illustrations from Davis' journey at Umpqua to outline how any business leader can create a culture that propels exceptional growth.National publications including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Fast Company, Business Week, Business 2.0, The Economist, CNBC and Newsweek have acknowledged the bank's strategy, innovation and growth.