Elisabeth SmithChief Executive Officer, Acutec Precision

Elisabeth Smith is President & CEO of Acutec Precision Aerospace, a Woman & LGBTE Owned Small Business. Founded in 1987, Acutec is a supplier of critical machined components and assemblies to the Aerospace & Defense sector with over 450 employees and 4 manufacturing facilities in northwestern Pennsylvania and St. Stephen, SC.  Elisabeth is committed to a culture of teamwork and leveraging technology to continually improve processes. 

Acutec is on the forefront of Industry 4.0, supplementing machining and post-processing innovation with in-house process engineering, software development and automation integration, and in 2018 successfully spun-off Lojic, a data analytics and visualization company. Acutec was named a Top 10 CNC Manufacturing Company in 2021 by Aerospace & Defense Review and has been recognized by Aviation Week for both Professional Development and Valuing the Individual. In 2022, Acutec established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan for employees to benefit from the post-pandemic rebound of the Aerospace industry. 

Prior to joining Acutec in 2013, Elisabeth was a consultant for the Aerospace and Defense practice of Charles River Associates (now Renaissance Strategic Advisors) and in the Operations Leadership Program (OLP) with United Technologies Corporation, holding positions at Pratt & Whitney, Hamilton-Sundstrand, and Sikorsky Helicopter.

She has a B.A. in Mathematical Economics from Haverford College, and MBA in Manufacturing Operations from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan. She has also completed Defense Policy Analysis coursework at George Washington University and the General Course at the London School of Economics.

Elisabeth is a member of the AIA Supplier Management Council and active in several working groups. She was a STEP Ahead award honoree in 2016 for Women in Manufacturing by the Manufacturing Institute and the youngest ever Winslow Award winner for her contributions to the Meadville area. Locally, she is on the board of The Meadville Medical Center and French Creek Development Corporation, and the board of corporators for the Economic Progress Association of Crawford County. She also happily carves out time to coach youth soccer. 

Elisabeth resides in Meadville with her wife Mariana, and their two young daughters.