Janice Bryant Howroyd (born September 1, 1952) is an entrepreneur, businesswoman, and author. She is founder and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of The ActOne Group, the largest privately held, minority-woman-owned personnel company founded in the U.S. Howroyd is the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

woman to build and own a billion dollar company.

Early life

Janice Bryant was born on September 1, 1952, in Tarboro,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, the fourth of 11 children in her family. As a teen, she was one of the first African American students to participate in desegregation of her town's high school.

Career

In 1976, Howroyd moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and worked as a temporary secretary for her brother-in-law, Tom Noonan, at

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

. While at Billboard, Noonan introduced Howroyd to business executives, celebrities, travel, and workplace diversity. With an approximate budget of $1,000 Howroyd continued to focus on employment services and launched her own company, The ACT 1 Group, in a small

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, office in 1978, with Tom Noonan as her first client. ActOne Group companies include AppleOne, All's Well, AT-Tech, ACT-1 Personnel Services, Agile-1, ACT-1Govt, A-Check Global, which provide personnel and recruiting services to different industries, and DSSI, which provides document management services. Howroyd is an ambassador of the Department of Energy's Minorities in Energy Initiative, a board member to numerous organizations including the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemp ...

's Workforce Initiative Board, Women's Business Enterprise National Council, WeConnect, National Utilities Diversity Council, Harvard Women's Leadership Board, California Science Center, Los Angeles Urban League and a member of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Services and Finance Industries of the U.S. Trade Representative and the

United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for gathering data for business and governmental decision making, establishing industrial standards, catalyzing econ ...

. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In May 2016 Howroyd received a key presidential appointment by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

as a member of the President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In 2017 she joined the Diversity Committee of the FCC. Since 2016, Howroyd has served on the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Board of Directors as an officer as Treasurer.

Bibliography

* ''The Art of Work – How to Make Work, Work for You!'' (2009) * ''Acting Up – Winning in Business and Life Using Down-Home Wisdom'' (2019)

Awards and honors

*2008 The BET Honors Entrepreneur Award - 2008 *2011 National Association of Women Business Owners Hall of Fame Honoree - 2011 *2015 "National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame" Inductee - 2015 *2016 Black Enterprise A.G. Gaston Award - 2016 *2022 Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization Business Pioneer Award - 2022. Howroyd received the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization’s Business Pioneer Award at the United Nations in 2022, celebrating her as a trailblazer and innovator in her field. The prestigious award, also recognized by the US Congress, highlights women entrepreneurs and the meaningful impact they are having on the world.

Personal Life

Howroyd has been married to her husband, Bernard.

References

External links

''Ask JBH'' – Personal Website

ActOne Group official website

"How I built a billion dollar business" BBC World News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howroyd, Janice 1952 births Living people 21st-century American businesspeople African-American business executives American women business executives 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century African-American writers American business writers Women business writers American motivational speakers American women motivational speakers People from Tarboro, North Carolina North Carolina A&T State University alumni American women non-fiction writers American women company founders American company founders American chief executives 21st-century American businesswomen 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American businesspeople