David Holtman
Managing Partner, R&D Design
When he left the Northeast after graduating college, David Holtman looked for the best place to find opportunity and found his way to New Orleans. Since then the serial entrepreneur has found almost everything he was looking for in the Crescent City.
“After college, I was looking around for opportunity, and the film industry down here was really blossoming,” Holtman said. “I did some research and found that New Orleans was getting strong for entrepreneurs, and that’s something I always wanted to do.”
In his eight years here, Holtman has been involved in startups in industries that have benefited from state tax credits, including solar and film. He was director of operations at PosiGen Solar — Louisiana’s fastest-growing company in 2015 — and worked in the movie-making business before the state cut the businesses’ initiatives.
Holtman is now the managing partner of R&D Design, a New Orleans marketing agency with a satellite office in Virginia, that specializes in developing and producing enhanced consumer communications that utilize the latest technology — virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI)— for local businesses to engage their customers and stakeholders.
Holtman has contributed his talents in the VR, AR and AI realm to many local organizations, including the Red Cross, Young Leadership Council’s Wednesdays at the Square, French Quarter Fest, Bayou Boogaloo and Dirty Linen Night.
“These are awesome events,” he said. “They’re great ways to have fun and benefit the community.”
