Kux, who joined Siemens in November 2008, is ranked as the fourth most powerful woman in business outside North America by Forbes, a position that she’s had for the past three years. She joined Siemens from Philips, where she was also CPO.
The news, reported by German daily, Financial Times Deutschland, will come as a surprise to many because of the huge savings targets still in place at the company, although a centralised approach to procurement is thought to have created tensions within certain quarters of the business.
Her role at Siemens also included sustainability, a responsibility she was known to be passionate about. In an interview with Procurement Leaders in 2010, Kux acknowledged the value of bringing procurement closer to other business functions through a sustainability board with the aim of pursuing common strategic goals.
“That ensures our three sectors are represented and that key functions are engaged and aligned,” she said. “The sustainability board also reports on the progress we make. We’ve established KPIs and we monitor our performance in sustainability and in profitability.”
