Janice Bryant Howroyd

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Janice Bryant Howroyd
Born (1952-09-01) September 1, 1952 (age 71)
Alma materNorth Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Occupation(s)Founder and CEO, The ActOne Group
Spouse
Bernard Howroyd
(m. 1983; died 2020)
Websiteaskjbh.com

Janice Bryant Howroyd (born September 1, 1952) is an entrepreneur, businesswoman, and author. She is founder and chief executive officer of The ActOne Group,[1] the largest privately held, minority-woman-owned personnel company founded in the U.S.[2][3] Howroyd is the first African-American woman to build and own a billion dollar company.[4][5][6]

Early life[edit]

Janice Bryant was born on September 1, 1952, in Tarboro, North Carolina, the fourth of 11 children in her family.[7] As a teen, she was one of the first African American students to participate in desegregation of her town's high school.[8][9]

Career[edit]

In 1976, Howroyd moved to Los Angeles, California, and worked as a temporary secretary for her brother-in-law, Tom Noonan, at Billboard magazine.[10][11][12][13] While at Billboard, Noonan introduced Howroyd to business executives, celebrities, travel, and workplace diversity.[10]

With an approximate budget of $1,000[14][15] Howroyd continued to focus on employment services and launched her own company, The ACT 1 Group, in a small Beverly Hills, California, office in 1978, with Tom Noonan as her first client.[16][17] 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.[18]

Howroyd is an ambassador of the Department of Energy's Minorities in Energy Initiative,[19] a board member to numerous organizations including the United States Department of Labor's Workforce Initiative Board,[20] 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. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.[21]

In May 2016 Howroyd received a key presidential appointment by President Barack Obama as a member of the President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.[22][23][24] In 2017 she joined the Diversity Committee of the FCC.[25]

Since 2016, Howroyd has served on the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Board of Directors as an officer as Treasurer.[26][27]

Bibliography[edit]

  • The Art of Work – How to Make Work, Work for You! (2009)[28]
  • Acting Up – Winning in Business and Life Using Down-Home Wisdom (2019)[29]

Awards and honors[edit]

  • 2008 The BET Honors Entrepreneur Award - 2008
  • 2011 National Association of Women Business Owners Hall of Fame Honoree - 2011[citation needed]
  • 2015 "National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame" Inductee - 2015[30]
  • 2016 Black Enterprise A.G. Gaston Award - 2016[31]
  • 2022 Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization Business Pioneer Award - 2022.[32] 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.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "About ACT•1". ACT•1.
  2. ^ La-Keya Stinchcomb. "Janice Bryant Howroyd: First black woman to own billion dollar c - WTOC-TV: Savannah, Beaufort, SC, News, Weather & Sports". Wtoc.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  3. ^ "ACT•1 The Largest Certified Woman-Minority-Owned Staffing Agency in the U.S". Act-1.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  4. ^ "Meet Janice Bryant Howroyd, the first African American woman to run a $1-billion business". Los Angeles Times. February 11, 2018.
  5. ^ "Janice Bryant Howroyd becomes first African American woman to run a billion-dollar business". ajc.
  6. ^ "Janice Bryant Howroyd: It's Not What They Call You, It's What You Answer To". September 20, 2018 – via www.wsj.com.
  7. ^ "Entrepreneur Mom: Janice Bryant Howroyd". Working Mother. 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  8. ^ "From Beyonce to Janice Bryant Howroyd, 14 black women who changed business and finance". Cnbc.com. 2017-02-14. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  9. ^ "Janice Bryant Howroyd facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Janice Bryant Howroyd". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  10. ^ a b "Janice Bryant Howroyd: The Boss". Her Daily. 2016-07-03. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  11. ^ Uwumarogie, Victoria (17 February 2017). "Women Of Black History: 5 Things To Know About Janice Bryant Howroyd". Madamenoire.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  12. ^ "How Janice Bryant Howroyd puts humanity in human resources at Act 1 Group - Smart Business Magazine". Sbnonline.com. 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  13. ^ James Flanigan (2009-10-14). "Being the Entrepreneur of Your Own Career". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  14. ^ "25 Black Women Entrepreneurs". Essence.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  15. ^ "Janice Bryant Howroyd facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Janice Bryant Howroyd". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  16. ^ "janice bryant howroyd interview". Makingittv.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  17. ^ "ACT.1 Group, Inc.: Private Company Information". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  18. ^ "ActOne Group: Janice Bryant Howroyd : How I Built This with Guy Raz". NPR.org.
  19. ^ "Janice Bryant Howroyd". United States Department of Energy.
  20. ^ "Layout 1" (PDF). Hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  21. ^ "ACT•1 Group". Act1group.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  22. ^ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2017-02-28 – via National Archives.
  23. ^ "Obama Appoints Our A.G. Gaston Award Recipient". Blackenterprise.com. 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  24. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-12-23. Retrieved 2017-02-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. ^ Eggerton, John (8 September 2017). "FCC Names Diversity Committee Members". Broadcasting & Cable.
  26. ^ "CBCF Announces New Officers and Directors for its Board". February 17, 2016.
  27. ^ "Meet the Board » Congressional Black Caucus Foundation » Advancing the Global Black Community by Developing Leaders Informing Policy and Educating the Public".
  28. ^ Howroyd, Janice Bryant (23 April 2009). The Art of Work: How to Make Work, Work for You!. ISBN 978-0615292984.
  29. ^ Howroyd, Janice Bryant (13 August 2019). Acting up: Winning in Business and Life Using Down-Home Wisdom. ISBN 978-1544504568.
  30. ^ "2015 Class of Inductees/Past Inductees - National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame". Nbcahof.com. 2015-10-30. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  31. ^ "Billion Dollar Businesswoman Receives Top Award". Blackenterprise.com. 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  32. ^ Grace Meng (NY). "WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP DAY 2022". Congressional Record 117: 178 (November 17, 2022). p. E1163. https://www.congress.gov/117/crec/2022/11/17/168/178/CREC-2022-11-17-pt1-PgE1163-4.pdf

External links[edit]