Caroline Dorsa.

Caroline (pronounced Carolyn) Dorsa started her career in the Mayor's Office of New York City working for Mayor Koch, on a fellowship pro gram in urban affairs coordinated through New York University Graduate School. Working full-time in the mayor's midtown office on economic development projects she got involved in finance administration. This sparked her interest in finance and spurred her to go to graduate school to learn accounting, "the language of finance," and financial analysis techniques.

Title: Vice President and Treasurer Company: Merck & Co., Inc.

Business/Industry: Pharmaceutical manufacturer

Born: New York City, 1959 Spouse: David

Education Summary: BA, History, Colgate University, 1981; MBA, Finance and Accounting, Columbia University, 1987

Career History: 1981-1985: Mayor's Office of the City of New York; beginning in 1987: Merck & Co., Inc., Financial Analyst; 1989, Director, Pension Investments; 1990, Executive Director, Financial Evaluation; 1992, Executive Director, Pricing and Strategic Planning, U.S. Human Health; 1994, Treasurer; 1996, Vice President and Treasurer FEI Chapter: New Jersey. Dorsa is the incoming chair for FEI's Commit tee on Corporate Finance.

Leisure Pursuits: "On the weekends I enjoy cooking and especially enjoy baking breads and cakes. My husband likes Asian cuisine, which I'm trying to learn; my Italian background makes that [cuisine] a little more natural. While much business travel is to financial centers such as London or Tokyo, leisure travel focuses on beaches and the tropics such as the Caribbean and especially Hawaii. I like reading history, particularly social history and current events." Time Management Tip: "Be focused; set boundaries on business time and personal time so you can enjoy each to the fullest. Nobody at the management level works a 9 to 5 job, so it's not about that. Since technology enables us to stay plugged in as much as we'd like to, it's useful to set some boundaries for yourself on what hours and what time you want to dedicate to your job. It's really about picking the times that you can be the most focused and most productive. In my case, although typically I will do some work every weekend, I try to preserve Saturdays for personal time."

Stress Management Advice: "Try not to worry about things you can't control; only worry about those you can control, because then you can have some impact and make a difference. You'll never resolve an issue you don't control. Worrying about issues you won't be able to resolve is the kind of worry that causes stress."

Best/Worst Jobs: "My best job is my current job, since every day is different and challenging. The breadth of exposure to issues including treasury, investor relations, Asia-Pacific financial support and tax per spectives -- all areas I have responsibility for -- keeps me in touch with many business issues. It's constant exposure and involvement with the business issues and, hopefully the opportunity for my team, which is a group of terrific people, to make a difference." Favorite Deal: "A vaccine partnership begun in 1991-92 was good for patients and for the companies as it provided the opportunity to develop a combination vaccine to improve the vaccination regimen for children. That's what Merck is all about. It's very dedicated to the vaccine world, being one of the few U.S. companies with a large vaccine division. During the negotiation, everyone was committed to getting to a solution." Other comments: "My father's career advice was great: 'Pick something you like to do that the world needs done, because that's the best match between your feeling satisfied and having opportunities in your career to be rewarded.' The match for me was finance. To be able to pursue finance, which is a fascinating career, and to pursue it at a company that is so dedicated to improving health, is a really nice match. I would also add that it's so important to pay attention to your team - supporting them and helping them develop is a critical responsibility and one that you owe them in exchange for their dedication. We can never do enough on that score." E-mail address: [e-mail]