Randy Stearns
D-Tools Inc. has appointed industry veteran Randy Stearns as CEO. He will focus on driving the company’s corporate strategy to fuel future growth and deliver the next generation of D-Tools’ system integration software and data solutions.
Stearns brings more than 20 years of executive leadership to his role at D-Tools. He was the founder and president of Bay Area-based Engineered Environments, one of the nation’s largest and more respected custom residential systems integration firms. He subsequently led an industry consolidation that merged Engineered Environments with six other industry leaders to form VIA International Inc. Through 2014, Stearns acted as CEO of VIA, which operates in eight western states with 350 employees and $70M-plus in revenue. He also has been an active volunteer for CEDIA and served on the CEDIA Board of Directors for eight years including a term as chairman. Stearns has his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
“We are pleased to welcome Randy to our executive team in this critical leadership role,” said Adam Stone, founder of D-Tools. “This key executive appointment represents D-Tools’ commitment to driving the future of its business and completing its transition to a true SaaS and enterprise software company. Randy is the perfect addition to our executive team. His experience, energy, vision, and commitment to being the best will guide us to the next phase of our company growth and create opportunities for us to provide new and innovative solutions to the market built on the D-Tools platform.”
Stearns has a long history with D-Tools, dating back to the company’s formation. “As its second paying customer, way back in 1998, D-Tools played a vital role in the growth and success of Engineered Environments,” Stearn recalled. “Transitioning from software user to software provider affords me the opportunity to help other system integrators benefit from this best-in-class software solution. My experience as a systems integrator brings a critical perspective to D-Tools in its continuing quest to enhance the feature set and increase the value of its software platform. I am encouraged by the current condition and future potential of D-Tools. My assessment of the business found D-Tools to be an incredibly well-run company—financially strong, with a universally accepted product, dominant market position and well-established leadership and development team. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to lead D-Tools through its next phase of growth and product evolution.”
A number of features were added to the most recent release of D-Tools System Integrator software, including Mobile Install (MI), which exploits D-Tools Cloud infrastructure to give users the power to publish installation tasks and service orders, to a portal that can be accessed by technicians in the field from any smartphone or tablet, as well as to send and receive device-level notifications.
D-Tools also has enhanced its integration with QuickBooks to allow integrators to efficiently view QuickBooks inventory and order status and sync vendors. AutoCAD (now includes support for AutoCAD 2015) and Visio-based drawings, complete with industry standard shapes and blocks, provide visual clarity and more concise communications between team members and with outside consultants for more effective project management.
