David Allman

David began his real estate career in the early 1980s, learning the business from the ground up. He navigated economic cycles, layoffs, bankruptcies, and the significant downturn of the late ’80s. Those early years toughened him, sharpened his business instincts, and taught him to be prudently conservative in good markets so that he could withstand the storms to come. By the 1990s, he helped acquire and develop major assets in the heart of Atlanta’s Buckhead district — transforming suburban models of development into thriving urban environments where people could live, work, and flourish.

But while his company, Regent Partners, continued to grow, something deeper was forming in David. God was using those early decades — the hard-won experience, the financial margin, the leadership platform — as building blocks for a calling that would require everything he had developed by that point.

Through the guidance of mentors like Bob Buford, and the influence of leaders such as Lloyd Reeb and Chris Crane, David began to envision a second-half life that was not merely successful — but significant. Inspired by Ephesians 2:10, he embraced the idea that God had prepared good works in advance for him. His role was to go and discover them.

That journey led David and his wife Donna to Nicaragua, where they launched a holistically designed community development model — economic empowerment wrapped in dignity, discipleship, education, and local leadership. They partnered closely with Opportunity International and local families to determine what assets already existed among the working poor. In an agriculturally rich nation, the answer was clear: farming.

With patience and perseverance, they built a field-to-market strategy around cassava, developing a gluten-free flour business that now supplies major U.S. food companies and employs more than 250 people. For years, the profits from this business fully funded schools, a hospitality training center, community infrastructure, and spiritual formation programs — allowing the work to grow as a self-sustaining system rather than a charity dependent on outside donors.

The journey has not been easy. Political instability, tariffs, and even unjust government crack-downs have threatened the work time and again. Yet, in each dark moment, God has brought the right people — faithful board members, skilled business partners, and lifelong friends — to ensure the mission continues.

For David, the greatest rewards aren’t measured in EBITDA or development milestones. They look like farmers able to send children to school for the first time… mothers thrilled that their

families can access clean water… and the joy that comes from serving shoulder-to-shoulder with deeply trusted friends in meaningful work.

He describes life now with a mix of humility and perspective — grateful for what God has done, aware of his own imperfections, clear about what matters most. When asked what he would do differently, he speaks not of missed opportunities in business, but of wasted time… moments he wishes he had stewarded with greater intention.

David Allman has become a remarkable example for leaders entering their own second half: Invest deeply in relationships. Use your gifts to solve real problems. Build teams. Show up. Hold outcomes loosely. And trust God to produce the fruit.

His life reminds us that great impact is rarely loud or flashy — it is faithful, compounding, and anchored in God’s call. And when you stay the course, over decades, the return can bless generations.