Longtime Do it Best Exec Gary Nackers Announces Retirement

After 22 years of service, Gary Nackers, Do it Best vice president of lumber and building materials, will retire in June. He will be replaced by Russ Kathrein, an industry veteran who most recently served as LBM business development manager for Do it Best. 

“Gary’s commitment to driving growth for our members has been a critical part of our success as an agile, world-class LBM partner,” says Do it Best president and CEO Dan Starr.  

Nackers started his career at Do it Best as a territory sales manager, moved into the role of regional sales manager for the northeastern U.S. and then became the national sales manager. In 2011, he was promoted to LBM director of program development and became vice president of lumber and building materials in 2014. 

“It’s going to be tough to say goodbye to an industry that’s been a central part of my life for nearly 40 years,” Nackers says. “I am tremendously blessed to have spent much of it alongside the committed LBM team at Do it Best. Most importantly, though, it’ll be the opportunities to serve our member-owners and help them grow their businesses that I’ll miss the most.”

Kathrein has been with Do it Best since 2020, and in his short time, he has already grown the sales and market share for the LBM division and established new LBM relationships with member-accounts. He came to the company with more than 30 years of experience in the forest products industry and a solid background in management, sales and business development. 

“In addition to his extensive experience and insights, Russ brings his well-deserved industry credibility to this important leadership position,” says Starr. “His background on both the dealer and distributor sides of the business will serve our team and member-owners very well as part of our LBM total solution.”