Director of Operations

Chris Willis did not begin his career in the homebuilding industry. Raised in Iowa on the Mississippi River, his passion was for boats. Armed with a Business Degree in Production Management from the University of Iowa, his original intention was to build boats. In fact, his first job as a Manager of a Marina gave him the opportunity to build his own house...on an island!

The boat business was not a booming industry in the early 1980's, so Chris took a departure from both Iowa and his chosen field and traveled the Southeast. He landed in Atlanta during a snowstorm. A Texas based homebuilder offered Chris his first job. He then moved to Texas where he worked for David Weekley Homes as a Project Manager for six years. Recruited by another national homebuilder and asked to return to Atlanta, Chris and his family jumped at the chance. Subsequently Chris moved into a joint venture partnership, where he built single family and town homes. It was while negotiating with Warren Jolly to purchase lots that the two met and established a friendship and business relationship. Warren knew that if he could recruit Chris to run the construction arm of Jolly Development, The Providence Group's construction partner, the team would be unstoppable. His wish came to fruition when Chris joined the company in 2002.

Chris is actively involved with the Homebuilders Association, and his list of accomplishments is long. Chris has twice been named Builder of the Year by the Dekalb Chapter of Homebuilders Association, and was awarded Builder of the year for 2002 by the Greater Atlanta Homebuilders Association. He served as president of the Greater Atlanta HBA and the HBA’s Dekalb Chapter and was a member of the Executive Committee for Greater Atlanta HBA. Chris is currently a member of the Greater Atlanta HBA's executive committee and board of Directors. He has been a member of both the Government Affairs Council and the Action Fund Committee and he believes in the professionalism that these memberships afford him.

When not working on one of these committees or guiding The Providence Group, Chris is an avid outdoorsman, fly fisherman, and enjoys spending time with his family. He has two children--Andrew and Betsey--with his wife, Heather. They reside in Roswell, GA (on the Chattahoochee River!)