Deborah Duffey is president, co-founder and chief product development officer of Dermazone Solutions.
Duffey is also chief operating officer of NuVessl, a biotech and licensing company focused on enhancing the quality of life through encapsulation science. She is also president of the skincare company Kara Vita.
She began her professional career, over 30 years ago, at Applied Strategic Planning, a Boston-based consulting group working on domestic and international commercial development.
Duffey was honored as one of The Top 100 Leaders of Tampa, 2022, by Women We Admire.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT?
I have been very blessed over the years to receive several business award nominations, as well as finalist and recipient spots. I have given numerous keynote speeches and led business and skincare training conferences. Every year, I am asked to speak at large international conferences in the field of nanotechnology. At one time, my proudest professional moment was when I was invited to speak at an International Medical Aesthetic Conference, in Moscow, Russia, to an audience of physicians, researchers and business owners. To be recognized as a subject matter expert in skincare technologies and aesthetics to an audience of international experts was such an honor. I was so proud to have achieved the opportunity of being a female American speaking in Russia. But this has now changed and, today, my proudest professional moment is my recent TBBW July 2022 CEO cover and story. To be honored within our local community amongst such extraordinary CEOs and business leaders is the pinnacle of my professional career. The recognition of my personal journey, and the lives I have been able to touch along the way, in the role I am blessed with, has been life-changing and facilitated my own personal development.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE GREATEST LESSON IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY?
The greatest lesson I have learned, and I pass on to other entrepreneurs and leaders, is to be ready to pivot. At times, we must seek and embrace a dramatic pivot to our business models. I have spent years writing five-year business plans and have been taught to always stay aligned with the founder’s vision, and mission, of the company. This may have, once, worked well but I have learned it can bring about the demise of a business.
