FORTUNE's annual ranking of America's leading businesswomen
Vivienne Cox Rank: 12 (2004 rank: 15)
Company: BP Based in: Britain Title: CEO, Gas, Power & Renewables
The highest-ranking woman at the world's second-largest corporation, Cox is a competitor. Not only did she increase revenues at BP's gas, power, and renewables division by 27% last year, to $83 billion, but in July the 46-year-old Oxford grad competed in a triathlon. Her business is as lean as she is: Profits jumped 65% in 2004.
From the November 14, 2005 issue
Highest pay
These women are among the highest paid in corporate America. All of them are employed by companies with over $1 billion in sales that filed proxies by September 1, 2005.
Newcomer Charlene Begley heads up GE's plastics division and is the youngest of this group at age 39. She bumped last year's youngest gun, Citigroup CFO Sallie Krawcheck, now 40. But, on average, the Power 50 are in their late 40s.
