Tarboro Native, Entrepreneur Janice Bryant Howroyd to Keynote BLC

The College of Business (COB) will hold its fourth annual Business Leadership Conference April 10-11 at the Mendenhall Student Center.

The two-day conference, open to COB juniors, seniors and graduate students, complements the intensive leadership preparation students receive while enrolled. Speakers and breakout sessions will prepare students for the realities of the business world and provide opportunities to interact with conference speakers, ECU’s Business Advisory Council, alumni, employers and community members.

Janice Bryant Howroyd, founder and CEO of The ActOne Group, will be this year’s keynote speaker. She will speak Tuesday, April 10, from 1-1:45 p.m. in Mendenhall’s Hendrix Theatre.

Janice Bryant Howroyd

More than 40 additional leaders and entrepreneurs representing hospitality, banking, finance, accounting, sporting and health care industries will participate in more than 25 breakout sessions during the event.

Discussions include:

• CEO lessons learned with Chad Dickerson, former CEO with ETSY and John Chaffey, CEO with NCEast Alliance.
• Paths to sports marketing jobs presented by Kelly Jones of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ryan Erdman of the Carolina Hurricanes.
• From student to professional with COB alumna Angelina Brack, VP with JPMorgan Chase, who will talk about how students should focus on their foundation.
• Words of wisdom from Business leaders Tom Arthur, retired CEO of Havatampa, Bob Arthur, retired president of Philadelphia Investment Management Company, and CEO Eddie Smith of Grady-White Boats.

Approximately 1,000 business students are expected to attend this year’s conference.

“This is my favorite time of year at the College of Business,” said COB Dean Stan Eakins. “During the conference, students will be able to hear from major national and international leaders that represent a variety of backgrounds and successes. I, for one, can’t wait to hear what these leaders have to say.”

Born in Tarboro, Howroyd founded The ActOne Group in 1978. Today, the company is a multibillion-dollar global enterprise with multiple divisions including AppleOne (staffing), ACheck Global (background checks and screening), and AgileOne (workforce, total talent management and procurement solutions). Each of these divisions service unique areas of workforce needs and provide total talent communities and management solutions across the globe. Staffing offices are located in more than 300 cities across the United States and Canada. The ActOne Group does business in 21 countries and addresses the needs of workforce, technology and competitiveness.

Howroyd also is the author of “The Art of Work: How to Make Work, Work For You” and serves on academic and industry boards that promote the education and support of women and minorities in business.

“We are looking forward to hosting Ms. Howroyd,” said Eakins. “She spoke at last year’s conference and the feedback was so tremendous, we asked her to be the keynote for this year. We are so honored and proud that she accepted.”

For more information about the Business Leadership Conference and a detailed program, visit http://www.ecu.edu/cs-bus/conference/.

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