Kim Stearns

About Kim Stearns

I build products, teams, and the people who lead them. At Synapse Studios, I\'ve spent over a decade launching 100+ products across consumer, aerospace, healthcare, fintech, nonprofit, commercial real estate, manufacturing, SaaS, and supply chain, spanning custom ERPs, ecommerce platforms, contract management systems, quoting tools, and more. Now I\'m deeply focused on AI enablement at the enterprise level.My sweet spot is taking a strong vision and turning it into a system for innovation, growth, delivery, and sustainable business operations. I\'ve developed dozens of repeatable frameworks for rapid product management and AI-powered agile delivery, built to help teams ship fast and exceed targets.I also staff and onboard technical leaders, build high-performing teams, and create long-term roadmaps that support fundraising, exits, and acquisitions. My business background, including running my own agency, means I think about margins, markets, and sustainability alongside every product decision.I believe great software is a result of hard work, clear thinking, deliberate strategy, and the grit to stay focused when every other distraction calls you.If you\'re building something ambitious or want to talk product, strategy, or AI enablement, I\'d love to connect.

Experience

1. Director of Product

   Synapse Studios

   Jun 2020 — Present · Tempe, AZ, US

   Lead product management, product design, and product operations across all active client engagements. Oversee a growing department spanning PMs, designers, and operations specialists, setting standards, frameworks, and delivery practices across the entire product function.Responsibilities include:• Client Engagement Leadership ‒ Serve as head of product across a concurrent portfolio of custom software engagements, acting as the senior product authority for clients across healthcare, fintech, aerospace, SaaS, supply chain, manufacturing, and more.• Department Oversight ‒ Built and scaled the product management function from the ground up, starting as the company\'s first PM and growing the department into a multi-discipline team. Define hiring criteria, onboarding, career development, and performance standards.• Product Operations ‒ Designed and implemented a suite of scalable product operations frameworks now used across all engagements. These frameworks are the foundation of a software platform currently in development.• AI Enablement Practice ‒ Developed and lead Synapse\'s AI enablement offering, including proprietary workshops and repeatable delivery frameworks that help enterprise clients operationalize AI and achieve measurable business outcomes.• Strategic Advisory ‒ Advise clients on product strategy in the context of broader business goals, including fundraising readiness, long-range planning, multi-year product roadmaps, exit positioning, and acquisition preparation.Across my tenure, products built under my leadership have reached hundreds of millions of users. Clients have gone on to raise Series A, B, and D+ funding rounds and created hundreds of jobs.

Education

• Arizona State University

  BS, Marketing

  2004 — 2008