Janice Bryant Howroyd

Net revenues of Janice Bryant Howroyd's staffing and human resources firm, Act-1, have topped $1 billion, up 9% versus a year ago, solidifying her position as head of one of the biggest woman and minority-owned businesses in America; the firm has 12,000 clients and 2,600 employees in 19 countries. Howroyd has served on presidential commissions for the past two Presidents. She was recently appointed by President Obama to serve on the Board of Advisors for the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Her journey to success started with a vacation in California in 1976 visiting her sister. She never left and two years, after not finding a job she wanted, decided to start an employment agency with $1,500, including a $900 loan from her mother. "I didn't have a lot of what people typically have to start a business but I did have a lot of intelligence," says Howroyd, "Sometimes when you don't have anything, you can be bolder than someone who has something and is afraid to lose it." Bachelor of Arts / Science, North Carolina A&T State University