Paula Polito and her husband were lounging on a Naples beach one day in the mid-'90s when it dawned on them: "Why don't we buy a place here?" The scenario may sound familiar, but Polito's lifestyle is anything but routine. While husband Dean Corsones, owner of First Boston Title in Naples, lives full-time in the couple's home in Naples' exclusive Mediterra neighborhood, she flies back and forth between Florida and the New York City area. As senior vice president for marketing at Merrill Lynch's Global Private Client Group, Polito is currently orchestrating an aggressive campaign to inform consumers of the Wall Street heavyweight's wide range of personal financial services. Polito says she actually looks forward to her weekly round-trip flights to catch up on paperwork. But it's the weekends in Naples she cherishes. "This is my core; it's where I get energized for the week," she says.

Q: You travel quite a bit.

A: I'm 24/7 when I work. I could wind up in Latin America; it could be Europe, Asia, anywhere. I'm happy traveling as long as my weekends take me back home to Naples. It's my

48-hour respite.

Q: What was your career path?

A: I came out of Boston College, and I really wanted to be a reporter. I went to the news director at WBZ-TV and said, "I'll work for free for two weeks." After two weeks he hired me. I tell people it was my first foray into marketing-the free trial offer. After 10 years there, I worked my way up to managing editor. I was never

on-air, but I covered a lot of neat things.

Q: Like Holly Hunter's character in the movie Broadcast News.

A: [Laughs] Sort of, yeah. But after 10 years in TV, you either become entrenched [where you are] or go to the network in New York. I wasn't prepared to leave Boston, so I took my skill sets and went to the largest ad agency in New England: Hill-Holliday. After five years there, I was recruited by Fidelity Investments. I spent five years at Fidelity before I got recruited by Merrill Lynch.

Q: What was your very first job?

A: Working in my dad's company. He owned a small steel company in Reading, Pa. He said, "You want to learn? I'll throw you right in." He gave me confidence and a lot of support.

Q: What's it like being a top female executive in finance?

A: I've always thought that if you're good, life is a meritocracy. It's basically how you feel about yourself, and whether you're really capable.

Q: Do you have time to relax?

A: I'm a typical Type A personality. I'm always thinking, but being here forces me to turn it off sometimes. If I really want to have a good round of golf, I can only focus on golf, which is great discipline.

Q: Is your husband Type A as well?

A: Yeah, he's at work right now. But when we're together, we're together. We entertain a lot; we have a great circle of friends locally. And a lot of our friends from Boston are moving here.

Q: So you were trailblazers in that respect.

A: Definitely. We have a consistent group of friends who visit. But we have an unwritten two-day minimum, because we need our time together. We always tell people, "If you're coming here to visit us, that's great. But if you're coming here to vacation, that could be problematic."

Q: How about kids?

A: Let's put it this way: I admire women who have a successful career and can raise a family. I felt like I had a choice, and my choice was to focus on my career. I have no regrets. But if I did have a family, I wouldn't be commuting.