J.D. Ewing, chairman and CEO of national office furnishings wholesaler COE Distributing, was honored among the Pittsburgh region’s Smart 50 executives for 2023.

Smart Business Magazine bestows this elite recognition to the top executives of the 50 “smartest” companies for their ability to effectively build and lead successful organizations. Ewing and COE Distributing have been featured on the list nine times.

The Pittsburgh Smart 50 winners were recognized at a luncheon on November 29 highlighting regional leaders in innovation, impact and sustainability.

“It’s so humbling to be honored among such an incredible group of business leaders,” Ewing said. “We work hard to consistently innovate, improve and provide the best products and service for our customers and we’re proud to have our team’s efforts acknowledged by Smart Business.”

Eligible Smart 50 nominees must lead organizations with a headquarters or physical presence in the region. A panel of judges vets all nominations and selects the top 50 organizations best representing a cross-section of the community. Nominees are then interviewed by the panel about the innovation, impact and sustainability of their work.

Focused on innovation as one of its Core Values, COE Distributing is on a journey to bring user-friendly products with inventive design to market. COE excels by seeking input from team members at every level of the organization and implementing new ideas brought forth by the team to improve products and processes.

“We’ve consistently grown our business and evolved our OfficeSource furniture brand to better meet the needs of our dealers and the users our products,” Ewing said. “Suggestions from our team members have played a vital role in spurring innovation that truly makes work better.”