Janice Bryant Howroyd

Who is Janice Bryant Howroyd?

Janice Bryant Howroyd is an African American entrepreneur. She is founder and chief executive officer of ACT-1 Group, the largest minority woman-owned employment agency in the United States.

Born in Tarboro, North Carolina, she received a Bachelor’s Degree in English from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. After graduation, she moved to Los Angeles, California and worked for Billboard magazine. She began ACT-1 in a small Beverly Hills office in 1978, with Billboard as her first client. Today, the company has offices in 75 U.S. cities and its clients include Ford Motor Company, Cingular, and Sempra Energy.

In 2003, Howroyd’s company placed third on the Black Enterprise magazine list of Top Black-Owned Industrial/Service Companies in America. In 2005, she received the Spirit of American Enterprise Presidential Award. Three years later, she was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the BET cable television network. In 2013, the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding honored her with the Joseph Papp Racial Harmony Award for her commitment to improving race relations.