Siemens CPO Barbara Kux has been named the sixth most powerful woman in business by Fortune magazine.
Having missed out last year while completing her move from Phillips to Siemens, she jumped 13 places from her 2007 ranking of 19th in the top 50 in the same poll.
Kux became Siemens' first female board member when she joined in November 2008 as head of supply chain management and sustainability.
She is overseeing a huge procurement transformation to streamline and centralise its ?55 billion (£50 billion) worldwide procurement spend.
As part of the scheme, Siemens unveiled plans earlier this year to slash its 100,000 suppliers by 20 per cent and work "even more closely with its most important suppliers".
Top in the poll was Cynthia Carroll, CEO of $44 billion mining company Anglo American.
