Billion-dollar Aggie
Magazine: Howroyd achieves business milestone
A&T alumna Janice Bryant Howroyd, a longtime member of the A&T Board of Trustees, was featured in Black Enterprise February edition as the first African American woman to own and operate a billion-dollar company.
Howroyd is the chairman and CEO of the Act•1 Group, a Southern California-based global leader in the staffing and human resources industry. According to BE, in 2013, Howroyd’s company was the largest black- and woman-owned business in the U.S., earning $1.9 billion in revenues (2012).
Building on an international scope and resources, her company creates and implements innovative technologies and business services that allow firms to optimize their talent pools and bottom lines through optimal/innovative resource management. A proven leader in talent acquisition and supplier management solutions, the company’s 30+ years of strategic growth has provided service to companies up through the Fortune 1000. Worldwide resources allow customers to reap significant and scalable advantages through the Act•1 Group’s modular technology and service offerings.
The Act•1 Group consists of: Agile•1 Workforce Solutions, which provides solutions for human capital and vendor management to create streamlined and efficient contingent staffing and project based processes; and AppleOne Staffing, a provider of Temporary, Contract and Direct Hire Employment services and Business Services Solutions, which offers background checking, distance learning, travel services and full-service document management.
A North Carolina native, Howroyd left her hometown in 1976 armed with $700. Since then, she has dedicated her efforts to building an organization that is committed to keeping the humanity in human resources.
She is a strong advocate for balance of education and entrepreneurship in the workforce. Active industry involvement gives her a unique understanding of the challenges faced by global workers and business owners alike. Her expertise on the subjects of workforce optimization and entrepreneurship has made her a much sought-after speaker. She is also the author of “The Art of Work: How to Make Work, Work for You!,” in which she distills over 30 years of experience into a work/life balance guide for individuals wishing to further their personal and professional success.
