Chief Procurement Officer
Royal Philips Electronics
Country: NetherlandsRoyal Philips Electronics
2006 rank: 21
Call her Ms. Efficiency. Kux, 53, the highest-ranking woman at the consumer electronics titan, is charged with increasing profitability by reducing suppliers as well as costs for everything from electronic toothbrushes to MRI machines. As chair of the company's sustainability board, she's also tasked with building a collection of eco-friendly products from scratch. This year it contributed 15% of sales.