Brad Duffy is quick to admit that his family name is better known in the Quad Cities, but  that hasn’t stopped him from making a name for himself in Greater Des Moines.

In eastern Iowa, the Duffy family is recognizable as the founders of Per Mar Security Services, a business that was formed in 1953 in Davenport by John and Eleanor Duffy. Today it is a multimillion-dollar enterprise with operations in six Midwest states and customers in 14.

The Per Mar operation has more in common with Greater Des Moines than simply an office and the presence of Brad Duffy and his wife and children. Steve Chapman, a native of Bettendorf in the Quad Cities and prominent Greater Des Moines businessman, sits on Per Mar’s board of advisers.

Though Per Mar has been led by the Duffy family since its founding, there is a policy that family members have to work outside the company for three years before joining Per Mar.

That worked out just fine for Brad Duffy, who worked with Bank of America Corp. in Chicago after graduating from the University of Notre Dame. Duffy met his future wife, Alison, in Chicago. As it turned out, they both come from large families and together have 23 nieces and nephews. It is too soon to say how many will be part of the Per Mar family. Duffy’s parents have seven sons and daughters, and four work for the family business.

“I spend as much time as I can with my family,” he said.

Duffy also spends a lot of time with community organizations. He is a member of the Greater Des Moines Committee and Youth Homes of Mid-America.

And with Alison, he is active with InnerVisions HealthCare, a West Des Moines-based nonprofit organization that provides support services for pregnant women and those who fear they have sexually transmitted diseases.

Duffy’s professional and community achievements have left an impression.

“Brad is driven to be a lifelong learner, respecting the value of education, experience and human interaction,” said Tom Mahoney, president and CEO of ITAGroup Inc. 

Reasons he’s a forty:

• He is a member of the Greater Des Moines Committee
• He is a member of Youth Homes of America board of directors
• While attending the University of Notre Dame, Duffy was selected to participate in the Hesburgh Program in Public Service.
• “He is an individual who invests in himself, and as a consequence, he is very highly regarded because he is responsible, caring and above all, a man of true integrity,” Suku Radia, president and CEO, Bankers Trust Co.