Kathleen Duffy knows how to seize opportunities. In 1991, she founded Duffy Group to help individuals find joy in their work and assist companies in unearthing the right candidates with the best skills. Now, three decades later, Duffy Group has grown from humble beginnings as a one-woman operation into one of the country’s most respected and effective executive search firms.

This success did not happen by chance. Kathleen’s commitment to serving candidates and clients inspired her to develop an innovative model known as Duffy Recruitment Research™. Scalable and customizable, this approach has enabled Duffy Group to leverage marketplace intelligence, operate as a discrete and transparent partner, and deliver quality candidates while saving up to 50% on traditional recruitment fees. Kathleen’s effective recruitment strategy also inspired her to author a book, Revolutionizing Recruitment: How Recruitment Research is Reshaping the Industry, aiming to help other hiring leaders perfect their recruitment practices.

Kathleen balances her role as President of her busy firm with numerous business and community endeavors. She lends her expertise on smart hiring and retention to business and HR-related groups and mentors social entrepreneurs through Seed Spot, an incubator that nurtures those developing impactful products, services or technologies.

Additionally, Kathleen is a long-time advocate for women in business. In 2005, she was a member of the first formal mentoring program of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), the voice of America’s 10.6 million women-owned businesses. She also is a founding member of the Arizona Human Resource Executive Forum, a professional organization addressing vital human resources and business challenges. Furthermore, she co-chaired 50/50 Women on Boards Phoenix Conversation on Board Diversity in 2019 and 2020, a global initiative to increase the number of women in company leadership positions and on corporate boards.

She also mentors women entrepreneurs as a Seed Spot Impact Accelerator Mentor.

Further, Kathleen co-chairs the No Longer Homeless Campaign Cabinet, focusing on providing resources to veterans to combat homelessness. She has also served as National District Coordinator and President of the Moon Valley chapter of the National Charity League, fostering community service and family bonds for mothers and daughters in grades 7-12.

As a proud Arizona State University alumna, Kathleen is deeply committed to education. She is part of the President’s Club and serves on the College of Liberal Arts and Science’s Futures Center Advisory Board. She has also served as chair of the ASU Alumni Association’s national board of directors and council, as well as the board of trustees serving on the Arizona Leadership Council.

Kathleen’s remarkable achievements and contributions are highlighted in the following accomplishments:

• Founding member of the Arizona Human Resource Executive Forum.
• Highly regarded keynote speaker on recruiting techniques, processes and entrepreneurship.
• Member of the Forbes Human Resources Councils, an invitation-only community for HR executives. She shares her knowledge on Forbes.com with other hiring and recruitment leaders.
• Named one of the 2019 Most Admired Leaders by the Phoenix Business Journal.
• Awarded the 2018 ATHENA Business Woman of the Year Award in the private sector, recognizing her leadership, community service and mentorship.
• Recognized by the Arizona Society of Human Resource Management with the Al O’Connor Lifetime Achievement Award.
• From 2016 to 2024, honored in the Sun Devil 100, celebrating Arizona State alumni who lead businesses across the globe and embody the spirit of ASU as the New American University.
• Named one of the Most Influential Women in Arizona in 2020 by Az Business The award honors 50 women for their impact on their organization, the region’s business climate and the community.