JANICE BRYANT HOWROYD

CHAIR & CEO, THE ACT-1 GROUP

Launched in 1978 with a $1,500 family loan and a small office in Beverly Hills, Act-1 has grown into the first business to exceed $1 billion that is owned and operated by a black woman. A proponent of global enterprise and information technology, Bryant has provided staffing and HR solutions to some of the world’s largest corporations while serving as a mentor to legions of black entrepreneurs and aspiring young, black professional women. Insistent that all honest work is honorable work, and an outspoken advocate for doing good, not merely doing well, she is known for saying, “Every day I learn of more and more people who have reached the top of their careers by starting at the bottom.”

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