(FORTUNE Magazine) – K. SHELLY PORGES, 35 BANKAMERICA CORP. Porges has helped put beleaguered BankAmerica back on the offensive. A senior vice president, she oversees advertising for all consumer banking products and directs marketing to small businesses. Since taking over in late 1987, she has created innovative ad campaigns to beat back competitors that had exploited BankAmerica's weakened financial state. Customers are responding: In 1988 the consumer loan portfolio grew 20%, and the bank booked 25% more new accounts per branch than in any previous year. Says Porges, who came to the San Francisco bank from American Express: ''We're changing the face of bank advertising in California.''

CHARLOTTE G. FISCHER, 39 CLAIRE'S STORES INC. When Fischer went to work for this chain of accessory shops in 1986, merchandise looked stale and profits were frumpy. ''Claire's had grown from a small entrepreneurial company into a nationwide retailer with close to 400 stores, but it lacked the systems and structure of a large organization,'' says Fischer, an alumna of Bloomingdale's and the Limited. As president of Claire's Boutiques, the company's main unit, Fischer assembled a new operating team and quickened the pace at which fresh assortments of jewelry and gewgaws rolled into the stores. To control the inventory, she installed computer systems that monitor the sales of over 5,000 items in stock. Within two years sales climbed 46% to $127 million, while profits jumped 33% to $7.1 million.

DAVID W. SCULLEY, 43 H.J. HEINZ CO. Like his big brother John, the chairman of Apple Computer, Heinz's new senior vice president became known early on as a marketing star. After graduating from Harvard in 1968, David Sculley began peddling dishwasher powder for Lever Brothers. By 1971, when he was 25, he had risen to group product manager for All detergent, one of the company's biggest product lines. Less than three years later Sculley packed his bags for Pittsburgh and began an awesome ascent at Heinz. As president of Heinz U.S.A., the largest division, he bolstered market share and boosted profits 65% in four years. The youngest of Heinz's six senior vice presidents and a member of the board, Sculley now runs Weight Watchers International and Heinz affiliates in Canada, Australia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.