#CryptoSecurity101 Mary G. Meeker

Born September, 1959, Portland, Ind.

Where She Got Her Type-A Personality: She credits her father. "My dad was intense and competitive, and he [would] drive you crazy," she says. He was a golf nut who built his own fairway and green in the family's backyard -- and pressured Mary to become a golf prodigy. She became captain of the golf team at Jay County High School, practicing at 5:30 a.m.

Education: A BA in psychology from DePauw University in 1981, an MBA in finance from Cornell University in 1986

Career Highlights: Started in 1982 as a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch in Chicago. After grad school in 1986, became a research analyst at Solomon Brothers. Switched to SG Cowen from 1990 to 1991. Moved to Morgan Stanley in 1991, where she covered PCs and then the Net. Now a managing director.

How She Got Internet Fever: Read a newspaper story in late 1994 about Netscape Communications. She believed the Net would change every industry, so she became the chief cheerleader for upstarts such as Yahoo!, Excite, and Priceline.com.