For better or worse, parents including dads play a major role in who we become. With Father’s Day approaching in the U.S., Medical Design & Outsourcing and MassDevice reached out to some of medtech’s top executives to ask what they learned from their dads.

Here’s what they said:

“My father built a business in the defense technology sector with some long-term colleagues as co-founders. Around the dinner table and over coffee for years, we’ve discussed the need for leadership excellence, technology excellence and empathy in bringing science-based business to the market. What a wonderful stroke of luck to have him in my life.”  – Gary S. Guthart, CEO of Intuitive

“My Dad has always been a strong source of inspiration for me, both personally and professionally. He spent 25 years working for Campbell Soup Co. in the areas of innovation and insights and analytics. I literally grew up as a Campbell Soup kid, listening to how he motivated and managed the people on his team, looking at how he applied creative thinking to everything he did and learning about the values of respect, empathy and fairness that he always demonstrated. My Dad taught me so many life lessons that have influenced the person I’ve become today, and I am truly thankful and blessed to have such a wonderful teacher, cheerleader, and most importantly, Father in my life.” – Ashley McEvoy, EVP and worldwide chair of Medical Devices, J&J

And Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha recalls an impactful phrase that his late Dad told him when he was little: “Nobody likes a smart alec.” There was a slightly different version of that quote when he got older.