Leslie Nash West is no stranger to the painting industry. Known for her friendly presence, sound advice and servant leadership, she has earned tremendous respect over her nearly 40-year career. In addition to her work with W.W. Nash & Sons in Richmond, Virginia, West has been a valued asset for many painting associations and publications advocating professional excellence and raising the bar for painting companies across the nation. In January 2026, she retired from W.W. Nash & Sons. Emily Howard sat down with her to discuss how it all started, the challenges she faced along the way and the role her CPIA peer group played in shaping her decisions and processes over the years.
Emily Howard: How long have you been in the painting industry?
Leslie Nash West: I’m the third generation in my family, so I was born into the painting industry. My grandfather started the family business in 1946 when he came home from World War II. First, he started with paperhanging and then added paint to his services. In the ‘60s, he incorporated and started doing commercial work. After he passed in 1969, my dad, his older brother and my grandmother took it over. They were already all working there. Later, their younger brother joined the business and in the ‘80s my aunt joined as well.
I started working for W.W. Nash & Sons cleaning the office when I was 16 and became the assistant controller after college. In 1994, after I had my daughter, I took a break and went to work for a general contractor one day a week. In 1997, I started working for the Richmond Chapter of the PDCA and did that for 19 years. In 2009, I went back to work for W.W. Nash & Sons. Then here we are in 2026, and I just retired.
EH: What’s are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in the painting industry over the years?
LNW: The toughest I recall going through was in 2008. The Great Recession didn’t hit commercial construction until late 2009 or 2010. Our management staff took a 10% pay cut and senior management took a 25% pay cut. We didn’t cut painter pay. The woman who had my job, quit, and that’s when I came in. By 2011 or 2012 all pay cuts had been restored.
When I look back over the many painting contractors I’ve known over all the years, survival and success through those tough economic shifts have always been about who can adjust to the market conditions.
EH: When did you join CPIA, and what did you gain from the experience?
LNW: I joined early and was at the first Leadership Conference. By the following January, I brought in Jim McBrayer (now Mikszan McBrayer & Associates, LLC), one of the Industry Partners, for sales training. We felt that we really needed an outside voice to teach some of the sales strategies.
I also joined a peer group, which has been so valuable. If I ever had a question like what to pay for travel time or how to handle per diem, I have eight other companies who can share how they did it.
Sharing has really saved me a lot of time because I don’t have to create everything from scratch. Even when I decided to take a buy out, my group dropped everything at that meeting to advise me. So many of them had already gone through it.
I am definitely better for having known them, and I am a better contractor for having my peer group perspective. Just having people to bounce things off of has really made so much of a difference. Even in retirement, I didn’t want to give up these people who are lifelong friends now.
Luckily, Leslie won’t be giving up her relationships with members, as she has just been announced as the new Peer Group Liaison. Stay tuned, as we know she will bring great things to the role and the membership in the future!
