Born in Derry, Northern Ireland and now a naturalized citizen of the United States, Ray Duffy completed a distinguished career as Vice President of Planning for the Jefferson Smurfit Corporation in March of 1996 at the age of 54. He had assisted the Chairman, Michael Smurfit, in developing the United States Operations from a base of forty million dollars in 1974 to over four billion dollars in 1995. He was named the U.S. Employee of the Year in 1985 and received the Chairman's Gold Pin (the highest honor given to worldwide Smurfit employees) in 1995. Ray has continued his involvement Smurfit, in a part-time capacity, as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Groveton Paper Board Company, a New Hampshire based paper mill. On the national level, Ray Duffy was elected as one of the top 100 Irish Americans who distinguished themselves in business in 1994 and 1995.

Ray has served on a number of national, and local, civic and charitable boards. In June of 2000, he joined Stepstone Productions, volunteering, as the Director of Strategic Planning. Ray's mission is to assist Stepstone Productions, with its considerable and unique creative talent, in becoming a global video production and marketing communications company in the not-for-profit sector.