Deborah Duffey has a passion for entrepreneurial pursuits and more than three decades of experience in leading and growing businesses. As a high-tech, impact-focused chief executive officer, chief operating officer, board director, and entrepreneur, she takes a 360-degree view of the business to identify growth opportunities, prioritize issues and initiatives, and drive operations to transform business outcomes.
This drive led her to launch Dermazone Solutions Inc. in 2001 to create great-performing products by leveraging nanotechnology delivery systems.
Dermazone is a contract development and manufacturing organization that creates skincare, nutritional supplements and animal healthcare products from concept to commerce for brand owners. The company’s proprietary delivery systems used in most of its products are patented, natural, and deliver fast performance of patients and consumers.
Focused on solving problems with innovative solutions, Duffey has developed new IP and new business models for startups and scale-ups as well as contemporary brands in hospitality, fashion, animal health, food tech, health, wellness and skincare.
Duffey also embraces giving back to the community. She sits on an advisory board for the Personal Care Products Council, is a former director for the CEO Council of Tampa, and was a founding member of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the ARCS Foundation. She also belongs to the American Botanical Council, American Chemical Society, Cosmetic Executive Women and CEO Council of Tampa.
Her efforts have led to accolades within the community and the industry. Duffey was a 2023 recipient of the Tampa Bay women business leader award-manufacturing by TBBW, honored as one of the top 100 leaders of Tampa 2022 by Women We Admire, and was featured in Tampa Bay Business & Wealth magazine in the July 2022 CEO cover story. She was honored as one of the Tampa Bay Business Journal women of the year in 2010 and has been an ambassador for the life science cluster for Tampa Bay.
When leading others, Duffey said her superpower is juggling. “Each day brings a constant series of demands and commitments, some planned and some unexpected, creating conflicts with my time, attention, and desires,” she said.
Utilizing flexibility and actively communicating are attributes she strives for as a leader in the industry. “Flexibility allows leaders to pivot and make both micro and macro adjustments in any area of the business,” said Duffey. “Effective communication, regardless of the audience—be it employees, management, directors, consumers or strangers—is essential.”
