ACE Laboratories CEO Erick Sharp named 2025 Smart 50 Award honoree

Ravenna, OH – Erick Sharp, Founder and CEO of ACE Laboratories, has been named one of the 2025 Smart 50 Award honorees by Smart Business Magazine, recognizing top executives in Northeast Ohio for building high-performing organizations through innovation, business impact and long-term sustainable growth.

Sharp received the award in November 2025 at the annual Smart 50 Awards ceremony in Ohio alongside fellow honorees from across the region. The Smart 50 Awards recognize leaders of organizations that demonstrate strong growth, strategic execution, and positive regional impact, and are widely regarded as one of Northeast Ohio’s premier executive recognitions.

Sharp was selected for his leadership of ACE Laboratories, an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited rubber, silicone, and polymer testing, materials development, and consulting laboratory based at its extensive facilities in Ravenna, Ohio, within the Greater Akron region, now designated as the Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub of the United States.

“Being named a Smart 50 honoree is a meaningful recognition, not just for me, but for the entire ACE team,” said Sharp. “This award reflects the work we have done together to build a laboratory that delivers strong technical capability, consistent service and reliable results for our customers.”

Since founding ACE Laboratories in 2015, Sharp has led the company’s growth into an internationally recognized independent laboratory supporting materials and product development across a wide range of regulated and other industrial and consumer markets worldwide.