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Steve Zeng, 39

Vice President, Corporate Development

Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York

It takes a tough certified public accountant to drag a 60-year-old nonprofit into the cutthroat world of mergers and acquisitions. Steve Zeng had the guts as well as the skills to guide HIP through four purchases in the past few years.

That may seem like enough haggling with lawyers, bankers and executives to last a lifetime, but more excitement lies ahead. HIP plans to go public after it merges with Group Health Inc. in a transaction that promises to be difficult and attention-grabbing, because of its size and political impact.

"Not many large corporations go through an IPO," he says.

The riveting nature of his job at HIP is a sharp departure from the first nine years of his professional life, which he spent as an auditor. Mr. Zeng, whose wife, two brothers, and sisters-in-law are all accountants, became "bored with public accounting," he says. "A shocker, right?"

Hungry for a change, he applied to the FBI but was rejected. In 1998, HIP President Daniel McGowan hired him for the finance department. "Steve has amazing influence at HIP," says Mr. McGowan, who promoted Mr. Zeng to vice president in September. "He says things that only the most senior guys can get away with saying."

Mr. McGowan pushed Mr. Zeng to get his M.B.A., which he completed this month after three years of juggling studying with working and raising his three young children. The degree was critical to his promising future at HIP.

For now, Mr. Zeng is preparing HIP for the transition to a for-profit. The challenge of his role is clear, he says. "It is a balance of having to push change, but also knowing just how far you can take it," he observes.

- Barbara Benson

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