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SUCCESS: Janice Bryant Howroyd

DIVERSITY IN business will take centre stage in Birmingham next month as hundreds of leading figures from the world of enterprise gather at the MSDUK Conference & Awards 2018 (25-26 September).

Ahead of the much-anticipated two-day event, U.S born entrepreneur and the first African American Woman to own and operate a billion-dollar company, Janice Bryant Howroyd partners with conference organiser Mayank Shah’s passionate belief in the importance of diversity AND inclusion, which she says can provide substantial benefits to businesses and communities alike.

Bryant Howroyd, who will be delivering a fire-side chat with TV newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy at the MSDUK Conference, was the first African American woman to build a billion-dollar (US) business.

She grew up in the deep South during the civil rights movement but overcame many obstacles to become one of the United States’ most successful entrepreneurs. Her company The ActOne Group provides workforce solutions to businesses across the globe, harnessing the innovative potential of a diverse global workforce.

Speaking ahead of the MSDUK event, Bryant Howroyd outlined the various ways in which diversity can benefit businesses and communities. “Profitability is not simply a question of one’s balance sheet. Supply chain diversity can be profitable for local communities. That is hugely important.

"Businesses can expand their horizons and gain access to new markets while providing jobs and careers for more people. I speak from experience when I say that companies can benefit in myriad ways by mining a variety of different perspectives and innovative skill-sets”.

Alongside Janice Bryant Howroyd, this year's stellar line-up of speakers includes news presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Ava Vidal, stand-up comedian, Dinesh Dhamija, founder of Ebookers and Kai Nowosel, CPO of Accenture. They will be joined by over 600 delegates, 200 entrepreneurs, 100 buyers, 60 exhibitors, 40 global brands and 50 supplier diversity leaders.

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