BGSU Academy of Distinguished Alumni to induct 2024 class on Sept. 26

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4. BGSU Academy of Distinguished Alumni to induct 2024 class on Sept. 26

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - As part of its 2024 Homecoming celebration, Bowling Green State University will honor three accomplished alumni on Thursday, Sept. 26, with one of the University's highest honors when they are inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

Established in 2011, the BGSU Academy of Distinguished Alumni recognizes the extraordinary achievements alumni have made through their chosen professional fields, community involvement and representation of their alma mater.

This year's honorees include Dr. Laurence "Larry" Benz '84, founder of Confluent Health; Seshadri S. Tangutur '87, a leading technology industry developer; and Jeff B. Witjas '68, a top talent agent and entertainment industry leader.

Dr. Laurence "Larry" Benz '84
Dr. Laurence (Larry) Benz is the founder of Confluent Health, a leading provider of physical and occupational therapy services in the U.S.

Confluent Health, and its network of partner companies, offers clinical care through more than 750 outpatient physical therapy centers under several industry-leading brand names, in addition to educational resources and professional development for healthcare practitioners and onsite workplace injury prevention services for businesses.

Benz has an extensive background in executive management and recruiting, including expertise in finding and retaining employees to build a thriving organization.

Prior to restructuring at Confluent Health, his PT Development LLC equity fund had holdings in many healthcare companies and organizations, including Family Home Health, US Worldmeds, Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions and physicaltherapist.com.

In 1987, Benz founded Kentucky Orthopedic Rehab Team (KORT), a private practice outpatient physical therapy company. He served as president and CEO of KORT until September 2007, when he sold the company to Select Medical.

From 1984 through 1989, Benz served in the U.S. Army as a captain in the Army Medical Specialists Corps, where he received the Meritorious Service Medal.

Benz has been invited to be a lecturer at more than 250 conferences and programs in physical therapy, MBA and executive education throughout the country. He has served on the American Physical Therapy Association's Advisory Panel on Practice, the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties and the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research.

He is the past board chairman at the University of Louisville and is currently a trustee. He also is a board member of the University of Louisville Athletic Association, UL Health and Evolve 502, a community-focused organization committed to creating a path to education for Louisville youth.

Benz is the recipient of numerous business, leadership and physical therapy awards and was named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow, one of the highest honors bestowed by the American Physical Therapy Association. His bestselling book, "Called to Care: A Medical Provider's Guide to Humanizing Healthcare," was published in 2019.

Seshadri S. Tangutur '87
Seshadri S. Tangutur is a technology industry leader with more than three decades of experience developing cutting-edge products at companies like Snapchat, Google, Motorola and Siemens. He has led teams that have developed operating systems, networking and telecommunications software and hardware, mobile phones and wearables.

Tangutur joined the engineering leadership team at Snapchat from Google's Motorola Mobility, where he was corporate vice president of software engineering. He led the development of Motorola's industry-leading Android platform software, which powered award-winning smartphones like Moto X, Moto G and the Droid franchise.

He also was vice president of engineering at Luminous Networks, a fiber-optic telecommunications company, where he led the development of multiple optical networking products deployed in telecommunication networks throughout North America, China, Japan and Europe.

Tangutur began his career at Pyramid Technology, later acquired by Siemens, where he helped develop software for highly scalable multiprocessor systems and massively parallel, clustered servers for Fortune 500 companies. He graduated from BGSU in 1987 with a master's degree in computer science.

Seshadri lives in Pacific Palisades, California, with his wife, Pramila.

Jeff B. Witjas '68
Jeff B. Witjas worked his way up from the mailroom at a Hollywood agency nearly 50 years ago to become one of the leading talent agents and leaders in the entertainment industry. In his current role at Independent Artist Group (IAG), Witjas continues to agent and represent various artists in Hollywood.

Witjas is widely recognized for his role as the longtime agent of the late Betty White, with whom he had a close personal and professional relationship. Other past and present clients include Jason Momoa, Smokey Robinson, Mary Tyler Moore, Buzz Aldrin, Bill Maher, Jerry Lewis, Ernie Hudson and Garry Shandling.

Before moving to Los Angeles, Witjas played in professional tennis tournaments and ran an indoor tennis club in Englewood, New Jersey, from 1971-75.

While attending his first year of law school in 1977 at Western State University College of Law in Irvine, California, a chance encounter on the tennis court led to a full-time job in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency. When he finished law school, Witjas became a talent agent and worked his way up through the ranks to become a vice president. He worked in all aspects of show business for the agency, helping to create the agency's sports division. His first client was future NBA Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant.

In 2001, after 25 years at William Morris, Witjas started as a senior vice president in the Talent Department at the Agency for The Performing Arts (APA) and later became a partner in the company. APA became IAG (Independent Artist Group) in 2023 and has grown into a powerhouse talent agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York and Nashville.

Witjas was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in New Rochelle, New York. He attended BGSU, majoring in political science with a minor in philosophy. At BGSU, Witjas joined a fraternity, was voted Key King for the class of 1968, played on the tennis team and served as vice president of the student body and the first president of the Undergraduate Alumni Association.

In 2024, Witjas was appointed to the board of directors of the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue in Malibu, California.

For more information about the BGSU Academy of Distinguished Alumni, visit BGSU.edu/Alumni.