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H.E. Duffy Keys
Principal
B Cellars’ co-founder and Principal, H.E. Duffy Keys loves to take a well-managed risk. He also loves the thrill of success, and a great bottle of fine wine. Which is why -- after a 20-year stint as a senior-level executive with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts -- he chose to hedge his bets with successful retail entrepreneur Jim Borsack by co-founding B Cellars, a start-up company with a new concept in Napa Valley artisan wines.
While with Four Seasons as senior vice president, Duffy played a key role in guiding the hotel management company, and its branded residential businesses (Four Seasons Residence Clubs and Four Seasons Private Residences), to achieve explosive growth, and attain its dominant position as the premiere luxury-lodging brand in the world. He has overseen operations, marketing, public relations, and finance for the company’s interests in the U.S., Canada, and the Asia-Pacific region, where he resided for more than six years.
In addition to his role at B Cellars, Duffy heads Keys Associates, which he founded in 2003 to provide asset management, development, marketing and related consulting services in hospitality and residential real estate industries, with an emphasis on integrated developments. With Duffy’s worldly perspective, broad reach, and synergistic marketing style, he is already bringing to B Cellars a global approach to attracting and retaining a savvy, sophisticated consumer. Sharing Jim’s allegiance to superior quality, Duffy believes that “only the best will do,” and that the best things in life should be shared with others. He intends to employ his well-stocked arsenal of resources and experience in guiding B Cellars to a dominant position in the super-premium wine category.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts’ degree in Business Administration and Hotel Management from Florida International University; and has studied viticulture and enology through the University of California at Davis.
