HEATHER BRESCH

I'd like to believe that achieving a leadership position is all about competency, capability and ambition, so I try not to distinguish between the sexes when it comes to giving career advice.

As a leader, these attributes - confidence, perseverance, work ethic and good sense - are all things I look for in people. I also try to lead by example and create an environment where good questions and good ideas can come from anyone.

There is simply no substitute for hard work when it comes to achieving success.

My experiences with gender bias are probably the norm. What I found was that expectations of women were simply lower, and this resulted in being overlooked for certain opportunities.

The most important characteristic that has allowed me to succeed is confidence. I have always been comfortable in my own skin, and even when I was just starting out in my career, had the strength and self-assurance to ask tough questions and push for answers.

Patients deserve increased price transparency and affordable care, particularly as the system shifts significant costs to them.

The value that the generic drug industry brings to the U.S. healthcare system is indisputable.

I hope to be viewed and judged first and foremost by my accomplishments and capabilities as a leader - regardless of my gender.

Someone in Washington needs to get serious about fixing the tax code. That is what needs to happen.

Look, I think if you've got a niche portfolio or just operating in one country, like the United States, your ability to absorb the volatility is much less.

Some shareholders believe it is all about price and a few people's pockets.

Political service is important because it's about helping others help themselves. That was engrained in me from a young child.

No one was talking about price decreases, but that does happen in the industry to keep medicine affordable.

There's going to be good things that get you, and there's going to be bad things that get you, so you better be willing, and your skin better be thick.

My great-grandfather started in the coal mines, and my great grandmother made 10 pounds of bread every Saturday morning that we delivered to the neighbors. It was always about giving back. These kinds of things drive me to make a difference.

Being a woman leader is secondary to me - and should be to others.

I certainly, to this day, believe I did everything I needed to do to get my degree.

We are going to continue to run a business, and we are going to continue to meet the supply and demand that's out there.

When I hear things like 'unpatriotic,' I just chalk it up to a lot of political rhetoric.

We are driven by the belief that every person in this world matters and access to better health is a right, not a privilege.

Women don't necessarily understand that it is possible to have the same level of ambition as men - they allow themselves to be held back by the obstacles rather than empowered by the possibilities.

You know what makes me want to cry? I think, whoever the next Facebook is, why would you ever start that company here in the United States?

Obama had the wherewithal to muscle through an entire health care reorganization, right? Like it, don't like it, whatever.

People can put their capital to work where they like.

Tax has generated a significant amount of discussion, and companies are forced to do what they can to maintain that global competitiveness and perform.