Nation’s Best has assembled a team with years of experience to help our partners thrive.
Meet the team.
Chris Miller
Chief Executive Officer/Founder
Prior to founding Nation’s Best, Mr. Chris Miller was the Vice President of Operations in the South and Western regions at U.S. LBM, one of the largest lumber and building materials distributors in the nation. Prior to that, he was the President of Parker’s Building Supply and oversaw the growth of one of the largest, independent hardlines distributors in the United States. U.S. LBM acquired Parker’s in 2015 and Chris Miller continued to run all of the South, Southwest, and West Coast operations for U.S. LBM. Alongside Chris Miller’s successful professional career, he retains time to focus on his family, friends, and outdoor hobbies.
Amber Little
Chief Human Resources Officer
Prior to joining Nation’s Best, Amber led Talent Development for Essilor of America, part of Essilor Group, the world’s leading ophthalmic optics company. Prior to that, Amber held a Global Training and Development Leader role at Halliburton in addition to consulting, HR, and organizational development roles in education, commercial real estate, private equity, and the Department of Defense. Amber holds a Masters Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Emporia State University and an undergraduate psychology degree from Kansas State University.
In her free time, Amber enjoys spending time outdoors, traveling with her family, and cheering on the soccer field.
Robert Debs, IRC
Vice President
Prior to joining Nation’s Best, Robert was the Director of Financial Planning and Analysis for the Southeast and West regions at U.S. LBM, one of the largest lumber and building materials distributors in the nation. Prior to his role at U.S. LBM, Robert held various key senior leadership roles in Investor Relations, as well as Financial Planning and Analysis, with various publicly traded companies of varying equity market capitalizations and industry types.
In his free time Robert likes to jog, play tennis, spend time with friends and most importantly spend time and travel with his family.
Jace Mattinson
Chief Operation Officer
Prior to Nation’s Best, Jace was the CFO & Partner at Northrim Horizon, a Private Equity firm based in Arizona. Prior to that, he was Vice President over Finance and Operations for USLBM after they acquired Higginbotham Brothers where Jace was the CFO. Prior to that Jace was a Partner at NowCFO. Jace began his career at PwC in San Jose and Dallas. Jace received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Brigham Young University and is an active CPA.
Tina Pape
VP, Systems and Integrations
Over the years Tina has accumulated 45 years of experience in the construction and Building Supply business. After 25 years as a Building Contractor, Tina’s father recruited her to begin Pape Lumber Company in 1977. Over the years the business grew to a point where a larger facility was needed. In 1995 they moved to a larger location that would accommodate the growth. She installed the first computer system, handled contractor sales, inventory control, AP, taxes, HR, AR, everything except lumber purchasing that was done by her father.
In 2002 Parker Building & Supply purchased the business. She continued to manage the business for Scott Parker for two years. At that time, she was promoted to District Manager, responsible for as many as 12 stores over a 200-mile radius.
In 2019 she resigned from Parker Building & Supply to join Nation’s Best as one of the first employees in the capacity of Operations.
Hobbies include gardening, traveling with family and spending time with her two grandchildren. Her two children are married and living in Bryan Texas and Bellevue Washington.
Matt Harrington
VP, Retail Strategy
Matt comes to Nation’s Best with over 20 years of industry experience. Before joining Nation’s Best in 2019 Matt worked for Do it Best Corp as a member of their Sales and Territory Management team. It was during this time that Matt worked extensively with his member owners on marketing, merchandising, store remodels and vendor relationships. Before his 13-year tenure with Do it Best Corp, Matt worked for a 3-store independent paint retailer chain where he served as a stocker, retail sales associate, floor manager and ultimately general manager of the business.
With a passion for retail, you can generally find Matt walking big box retailers both inside and outside our industry looking for inspiration. Matt enjoys spending time with his wife and two children outside of work. Together they enjoy traveling to visit friends and family, going to see the latest movies, and sampling the BBQ that Matt loves to make at home.
Manny Cirilo
VP, Purchasing
Prior to joining Nation’s Best, Manny worked as an Outside Sales Representative for Great Southern Wood Preserving for 10 years. After his time with Great Southern Manny was a Territory Sales Manager with South West Moulding. Prior to the building industry Manny worked as a Territory Specialty Sales Manager for Forrest Pharmaceuticals. In his free time, Manny enjoys spending quality time with his wife and 3 children, serving at his local church, and watching the NY Mets, Knicks, and Giants.
Kevin Pierce
Regional Vice President
Prior to joining Nations Best, Kevin was the Chief Operating Officer for E.C. Barton & Company. He spent over 12 years with E.C. Barton and began his career as Assistant Controller/Special Projects. After a brief period in Accounting, he moved into Operations as a District Manager, and shortly thereafter into the role of Vice President of Operations. He also spent time on the Board of Directors.
Prior to joining Nations Best and after leaving E.C. Barton and Company, Kevin was President of the Pierce Group, a consulting company with projects focused on retail management, real estate, as well as project management and construction. He was a partner in a family-owned LLC, with a focus on residential real estate construction.
Kevin also spent 13 years in the manufacturing industry with Nucor Corporation in various roles such as sales, credit, finance, and special projects. He has also owned and operated businesses in the retail and restaurant fields along with his wife.
In his free time, Kevin enjoys spending time with his wife and three adult children and grandchildren. He also enjoys time running, biking, and spending time outdoors at the lake or on the farm with family.
Tina Green
Regional Vice President
Tina comes to Nations Best with over 25 years in customer service and construction. Following in family footsteps, she started on her first construction job working as a “hand” for a company that built portable buildings, cabins, and decks. She quickly moved into a sub-contracting role that provided her great opportunities to build in multiple cities all over central and south Texas. From there she went on to the Home Depot working in contractor sales. At Depot she led teams at three different locations, delivering expansive year over year sales growth and cultivating strong relationships with commercial customers and DIYers. Tina has a passion for delivering excellent customer service and has a proven track record of delivering results. She has done a little bit of everything from swinging a hammer, to renting tools, to loading and dispatching trucks. You name it, she had probably at least tried it.
Most recently Tina held the position of assistant manager for Groom & Sons in Mabank Texas, the 2nd acquisition for Nations Best. She quickly jumped in to assist with not only the transition at Groom & Sons, but also many of the acquisitions that followed. Having a servant heart and willing spirit have earned her the Nations Best “Rockstar” award and the Nations Best “Culturvator” award.
In 2021 Tina was chosen to participate in and successfully completed the Retail Management Certification Program (RMCP) through the National Hardware and Paint Association. Traveling to multiple locations to assist with transitions she has been instrumental in identifying top talent and future Nations Best Rockstars and leaders. As Nations Best portfolio has continued to grow, Tina has held multiple roles from assistant manager to operations specialist, to general manager, leading to her current role as Regional Vice President- Western Region with stores in New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
Tina enjoys spending time with family and friends, gardening, and being outdoors. A huge metal detecting buff, she hopes to one day take a bucket list metal detecting vacation in Europe.
Greg Smith
Regional Vice President
Prior to joining Nation’s Best, Greg was part of the Kodiak Building Partners Operating Leadership Team for the past three years and served as the President of Gulf & Basco in the Houston metro area. Prior to joining Kodiak, Greg was with E C Barton & Company for almost 34 years. He began his E C Barton career as a part time yard hand and truck driver. Over the next 34 years Greg worked in the accounting, warehouse, sales, purchasing, and operations leadership areas. During that time he served as General Manager of Warehouse Operations, District Manager, VP of Operations, and Chief Purchasing Officer. In addition he served on the company’s Board of Directors for the last 17 years he was with E C Barton.
In his free time, Greg enjoys traveling with family, duck hunting with his sons, and watching Arkansas Razorbacks sports.