Since 2007, Mr. Stearns has been a private investor.  His investing activity has included a number of diverse companies, with a primary focus on commercial real estate.  He has invested in numerous commercial properties, including: retail, office, warehouse and multi-family residential housing.  He has earned the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation, and is a current director of the Arkansas chapter of the CCIM Institute.  Prior to his current career as a commercial property investor, Mr. Stearns worked for 19 years as an electronics engineer. 

In 1996, he co-founded Mid Continent Controls, specializing in the designs and manufacture of cabin management equipment for the corporate aviation market.  During his tenure at Mid Continent Controls, Mr. Stearns was responsible for all aspects of new product design, including electronics, software, packaging, documentation, and production testing specifications.  Additional responsibilities included verification of product compliance with FAA Certification requirements for Environmental / Electrical / Reliability.  Mr. Stearns earned a BSEET from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a Master of Science in Instrumentation Sciences from the UALR Graduate Institute of Technology.