Editor’s Note: The David Eccles School of Business is celebrating Black History Month by sharing the successes of Black business leaders who have made big impacts in the business world.
Janice Bryant Howroyd is the founder and CEO of the ActOne Group, an employment agency and consultancy firm. She is the first African-American woman to operate a company that brings in more than $1 billion in revenue annually.
Howroyd packed up and moved from her hometown of Tarboro, N.C., to Los Angeles with only $900 to her name. Two years later, in 1978, she founded Act 1, despite the fact she owned only a phone and not even a FAX machine. Word of mouth helped her company grow, and she adapted to client needs by adding new services as they came into demand.
Act 1 Group now operates in 19 countries, employs 2,600 people worldwide, and serves more than 17,000 clients. It is the largest privately held, woman- and minority-owned workforce management company in the United States.