Janice Bryant Howroyd

Entrepreneur, educator, ambassador, author, mentor, and Presidential special appointee, Janice Bryant Howroyd is the founder and CEO of The ActOne Group, a global leader providing customized cutting edge solutions in the human resources industry. The ActOne Group is a multibillion-dollar (USD) award-winning international talent and talent-technology enterprise with multiple divisions that each service unique areas of employment and provide talent-management solutions.

JBH has invested millions of dollars in creating the industry’s most advanced technology and talent platform serving the ever-changing utility, energy, and broadband-communication space. Her vision, as an industry leader, is fostering connectivity between these sectors, giving a competitive advantage to clients engaged in cyclical markets. Her understanding of global market demographics and trends has made her a highly sought-after ambassador, speaker, and commentator on global business issues.

In the hallway of her headquarters hangs a painting inspired by the U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown vs. the Board of Education, which outlawed school segregation, because, she says, “I’m a product of that energy.” She is currently listed as #39 in the Forbes list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women. In 2014, she was recognized by Black Enterprise as the first black woman to own and operate a billion-dollar company. JBH was BET’s first ever BET Honors Entrepreneur of the Year, and has received Black Enterprise’s Business of the Year Award. In 2013, she was appointed as a U.S. ambassador of the Department of Energy at the White House.

In May of 2016, JBH received a key appointment by President Barack Obama as a member of the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. As a community leader and an advocate for education, she lends her guidance to select organizations that include the International Trade Advisory Commission Board, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporate Board, and the Women’s Leadership Board of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

JBH has traveled to over 50 countries promoting education and the powerful impact it has on communities around the world. Her accomplishments, both personal and professional, are inspired by her deep faith and her love for her family. She says, “One cannot effectively lead without passionately serving.”