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Bob Duffy
Bob Duffy
Bob Duffy
Bob Duffy
President/CEO, Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce
Years in current role: 10
What was the most significant challenge your organization faced in 2024, and how did you address it?
Our most significant challenge has been the effects of inflation, regulation, and the cost of doing business in NYS for our members. The financial hardships experienced by so many of our member businesses have had an array of ancillary impacts in our region. We worked tirelessly to address these issues through the strong relationships that we have with our elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels — and we have been very pleased with their response and efforts.
What trends or innovations in your industry do you anticipate having the biggest impact in 2025?
Definitely the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and the opportunities to take full advantage of the power of AI.
What role do you see Rochester playing in your organization’s growth over the next few years?
There are many great things happening in both our city and region. The Tech Hub, the many developments in progress, bode well for our future. We accept the challenges that exist and need to make more progress on those, especially with crime, safety, poverty, and education — but the fact remains that there several major investments in progress and we need to support our city — and get excited about the many positives. Both Mayor Evans and County Executive Bello have been super responsive to the needs/concerns of our business community.
What community initiatives or partnerships are you most excited about engaging with this year?
I am most excited about Gov. Hochul’s recent funding announcement for a pilot project in Rochester to address the Benefits Cliff. This project can have far-reaching impacts on lifting people out of poverty and increasing our local workforce. The current system removes social service benefits as soon as they reach a certain income threshold. The goal with the Benefits Cliff is to create a sliding scale that reduces benefits as income increases but does not eliminate them immediately. Credit goes to Danny and Colleen Wegman for being fierce advocates for these changes.
How do you balance fostering innovation while managing day-to-day business operations?
We focus on both — and we bring some talented business leaders/innovators to meet with our Chamber team and guide us. If you don’t innovate, you will soon become irrelevant.
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This profile is part of our Power 100 list for 2025. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. View the full list at rbj.net. |
