Richard Stearns went from success to significance when he left the corporate world behind to become president of World Vision U.S. in 1998. After 20 years as the longest-serving CEO of the Christian relief and development organization, he plans to retire in January 2019. Stearns holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. His professional career included leadership roles at Gillette, Parker Brothers Games, The Franklin Mint, and Lenox Inc., where he became president and chief executive officer in 1995. Stearns brought corporate best practices to World Vision, where he inspired a culture of outcome-focused management. His lasting legacy is his leadership in calling on the Church in America to respond to some of the greatest needs of our time, notably the HIV and AIDS pandemic and the global refugee crisis. Stearns and his wife, Reneé, have five children and five grandchildren and live in Bellevue, Washington.

'World Vision plays a strategic role on our globe. As the largest relief organization in the history of the world, they initiate care and respond to crisis. Rich Stearns navigates this mercy mission with great skill. His book urges us to think again about the opportunity to love our neighbor and comfort the afflicted. His message is timely and needed. May God bless him, the mission of World Vision and all who embrace it.' --Max Lucado, author of 3:16--The Numbers of Hope, Minister of Writing and Preaching, Oak Hills Church, San Antonio, TX

Richard Stearns went from success to significance when he left the corporate world behind to become president of World Vision U.S. in 1998. After 20 years as the longest-serving CEO of the Christian relief and development organization, he plans to retire in January 2019. Stearns holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. His professional career included leadership roles at Gillette, Parker Brothers Games, The Franklin Mint, and Lenox Inc., where he became president and chief executive officer in 1995. Stearns brought corporate best practices to World Vision, where he inspired a culture of outcome-focused management. His lasting legacy is his leadership in calling on the Church in America to respond to some of the greatest needs of our time, notably the HIV and AIDS pandemic and the global refugee crisis. Stearns and his wife, Reneé, have five children and five grandchildren and live in Bellevue, Washington.

'World Vision plays a strategic role on our globe. As the largest relief organization in the history of the world, they initiate care and respond to crisis. Rich Stearns navigates this mercy mission with great skill. His book urges us to think again about the opportunity to love our neighbor and comfort the afflicted. His message is timely and needed. May God bless him, the mission of World Vision and all who embrace it.' --Max Lucado, author of 3:16--The Numbers of Hope, Minister of Writing and Preaching, Oak Hills Church, San Antonio, TX

Richard Stearns went from success to significance when he left the corporate world behind to become president of World Vision U.S. in 1998. After 20 years as the longest-serving CEO of the Christian relief and development organization, he plans to retire in January 2019. Stearns holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. His professional career included leadership roles at Gillette, Parker Brothers Games, The Franklin Mint, and Lenox Inc., where he became president and chief executive officer in 1995. Stearns brought corporate best practices to World Vision, where he inspired a culture of outcome-focused management. His lasting legacy is his leadership in calling on the Church in America to respond to some of the greatest needs of our time, notably the HIV and AIDS pandemic and the global refugee crisis. Stearns and his wife, Reneé, have five children and five grandchildren and live in Bellevue, Washington.

'World Vision plays a strategic role on our globe. As the largest relief organization in the history of the world, they initiate care and respond to crisis. Rich Stearns navigates this mercy mission with great skill. His book urges us to think again about the opportunity to love our neighbor and comfort the afflicted. His message is timely and needed. May God bless him, the mission of World Vision and all who embrace it.' --Max Lucado, author of 3:16--The Numbers of Hope, Minister of Writing and Preaching, Oak Hills Church, San Antonio, TX