Byline: John Rosenthal
Grace Puma isn't kidding when she says she loves her job: "I couldn't live without working.''
That's even more surprising when you realize her job is procurement, the far-from-exotic task of purchasing all of a company's goods and services-a trade she's honed for more than 20 years at some of the world's biggest corporations, including Gillette Co., Motorola Inc. and, most recently, Kraft Foods Inc.
So when Chicago-based United Airlines was looking for ways to offset rising fuel prices, the carrier recruited Ms. Puma, 45, giving her free rein to review the company's sourcing from top to bottom.
Since taking the job in September, she's ...