David Buttrey is a distinguished executive producer and technologist with a career spanning more than two decades, primarily at the intersection of digital innovation and real-world experiences. He is currently the president of Mangrove, a digital-asset ecosystem built for the era of Agentic AI and onchain traditional finance. ^[1]

Education

David Buttrey attended Loyola University New Orleans, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Industry Studies. He also studied at the University of Otago in New Zealand. ^[2]

Career

David Buttrey is an entrepreneur, advisor, and event production professional with experience spanning digital assets, financial consulting, and large-scale live events. Since 2025, he has served as co-founder and president of Mangrove, a company focused on digital-asset infrastructure for artificial intelligence agents and on-chain financial applications. He has also been president of DTB Advisors since 2021.

Alongside his work in finance and technology, Buttrey has worked extensively in the music and entertainment industry. Since 2010, he has consulted for numerous music festivals and live events, including Bonnaroo, Coachella, TomorrowWorld, Governor's Ball, Stagecoach, Essence Festival, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. His responsibilities have included event operations, permitting, logistics, production, and stakeholder coordination.

From 2021 to 2024, Buttrey was managing partner of Music City Studios in Nashville. Earlier, he served as Director of Enchant University at Enchant Christmas, where he developed and delivered training programs across multiple operational departments. He also held production and operational roles with events such as Afropunk Festival, Tortuga Music Festival, Pemberton Music Festival, and Buku Music + Art Project.

In academia, Buttrey was an adjunct professor at Loyola University from 2013 to 2019, where he created and taught a university-level course on music festival production. He also co-founded BLKRBBT, an entertainment design company that produced digital media, visual content, and event design solutions for clients in the music, sports, and corporate sectors.

Earlier in his career, Buttrey worked in artist management, founded Loyola Licensing Group, and held various consulting, business development, and event management positions across the United States, Canada, and India. ^{[1] [2]}