JANICE BRYANT HOWROYD

Founder and CEO ActOne Group

Janice Bryant Howroyd, the first African American woman to found a multi-billion dollar company, launched the ActOne Group in Los Angeles in 1978. The workforce solutions and staffing solutions company has since provided millions of jobs for millions of workers across the globe. Operating in over 32 countries and 24 languages, Howroyd leads from the humanity, discipline, and excellence instilled in her childhood, where she weathered a segregated education in the deep south. Transparency and accountability frame her leadership style and the culture of her organization.

Howroyd was the first-ever BET Honors Entrepreneur of the Year, and for her company’s keen, proactive work ensuring employment for women and diverse populations throughout the pandemic, she received Black Enterprise’s 2022 Woman of the Year award. In 2013, she was appointed a USA Ambassador of Energy at the White House, in May of 2016, a key Presidential appointment by President Barack Obama to the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and in 2017, was appointed to the Federal Communications Commission’s Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment.

Howroyd is an educator, ambassador, twice published author, advocate for women in STEM and entrepreneurship, and a champion of DE&I. She has donated millions of dollars to universities to ensure advanced education for minorities and women and serves on boards at Harvard, USC, Cal State San Bernardino, and NCA&T. She personally provides mentorships to women in business and funds programs that educate and promote young women at the nationally and internationally.