FORTUNE's annual ranking of America's leading businesswomen
Barbara Kux Rank: 24 (2004 rank: 26)
Company: Royal Philips Electronics Based in: The Netherlands Title: Chief Procurement Officer
With $22 billion to spend, Kux has a lot of shopping to do. But since joining Philips two years ago, the 51-year-old procurement chief has proved that she knows how to save money as well. Philips had been steadily losing money when it brought Kux in from Ford Europe. She quickly cut the number of suppliers by a third and eliminated inefficiencies. Last year profits soared 348%, to $3.5 billion, and revenue was up 15%, to $37.7 billion.
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.
