Guests

Aaron Kraai is the founder and CEO of Doctors of Physical Therapy, one of the fastest‑growing PT organizations in the U.S. A lifelong learner in the field, Aaron started working in physical therapy at just 14 years old and grew his company from a single clinic into a national brand rooted in honesty, family, and servant leadership. In 2024, he was honored with USC's Distinguished Alumnus Award, recognizing his years of dedication to advancing DPT and championing physical therapy as a profession.

Al Moreau is the owner of Moreau Physical Therapy, a multi-specialty rehabilitation network his father founded in 1977 that now spans more than 26 locations across Louisiana and Texas. He leads the organization with a people-first philosophy rooted in the belief that sustainable growth comes from investing in the right people, not just opening new doors. Known for building strong internal leadership pipelines, Al has developed formal programs to grow clinicians into directors and guide the next generation of practice leaders. Under his leadership, Moreau PT has expanded into rural markets across two states while maintaining a close-knit culture built on mentorship, community, and the core value of growing together.

Dr. Anthony Buccafurni is a practicing Physical Therapist and Chief Operating Officer of FOX. Dr. Buccafurni joined FOX as a full-time clinician in 2003 and was quickly promoted to regional field leadership. During his early leadership at FOX, Dr. Buccafurni was instrumental to the expansion of FOX into Atlantic, Ocean, and Monmouth Counties in New Jersey. During his years as Executive Vice President of Operations, Dr. Buccafurni used his change management expertise to successfully reorganize Quality Assurance and Professional Development, Sales, and Admissions while leading Clinical Operations.

Brady is the CEO of Cypress Health Partners, the leading provider of physical therapy and musculoskeletal health in the Northeast. He advances innovative care models that emphasize prevention, early intervention, and better patient outcomes. Drawing on broad experience in strategy, investing, and pediatric home healthcare, Brady is committed to expanding access and helping both patients and providers reach their potential.

Chris Reading is chairman and CEO of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE: USPH), one of the largest publicly traded operators of outpatient physical therapy clinics in the United States. He joined USPH as chief operating officer in 2003, became president and CEO in 2004, and was named chairman in 2024. Under his leadership, the company has scaled to more than 800 clinics across 40-plus states through a partnership model that keeps local operators in control of the businesses they built. Before USPH, Reading spent more than a decade at HealthSouth in operations and senior leadership roles spanning rehab, ambulatory surgery, imaging, and rehab hospitals. He graduated magna cum laude from the Medical College of Virginia in 1985 and is a co-leader of APTQI, the industry coalition he helped form to advocate for outpatient rehab providers in Washington.

Dan Rootenberg is the CEO of Spear, the only two-time National Practice of the Year award winner. Dan co-founded Spear in 1999, working out of a small treatment room in midtown Manhattan. He had a singular vision for combining clinical excellence with a five-star customer service experience. Spear has since grown to 77 locations throughout NYC, Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey and CT, employing over 1100 people currently and is continuing to expand further.

Nick Hedges leads Raintree, the EMR and practice management platform trusted by many of the largest rehab therapy organizations in the country. He became CEO in 2022 after a 25-year career building high-growth software companies, including Velocify, which he led for a decade before its sale to Ellie Mae, and MomentFeed. A veteran of Bain & Company and Accenture and a Harvard Business School graduate, he moved into healthcare looking for work that would make a real dent, and found it in rehab therapy. Today he is betting Raintree's future on becoming AI-native, so practices can spend less on administration and more on patients.

Povilas Gudzius is the co-founder and CEO of Spike Technologies, an agentic AI company he built with co-founder Nikita Pajanok to bring machine-learning-grade automation to health data. He spent seven years earning a PhD in machine learning, set on that path by Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity Is Near, and previously worked in data and AI technology sales at Bloomberg. His team's technology powers a single API connecting hundreds of wearables, devices, and medical records, and now, through Raintree, an agentic layer aimed at automating the revenue cycle across U.S. rehab therapy. He describes himself and his fellow founders as scientists who fell in love with an industry most people find impossibly complex.

Simon Hargus is the owner of First Settlement Physical Therapy, a family-run practice that’s grown to about 50 clinics and 300 employees serving rural Ohio and West Virginia. A PT who moved from the clinic to the C‑suite, he’s known for building a people‑first culture, long‑form patient care, and individualized career paths to curb burnout. He’s active in advocacy, pushing for state‑level wins and a stronger political voice for PT, and he embraces practical tech like AI scribe tools where they deliver real ROI.

Tony is a leading sports physical therapist, performance coach, and researcher. He speaks and teaches nationally on sports physical therapy and regularly publishes research in international journals. Tony previously served as the Physical Therapy Manager at the world-renowned EXOS in Phoenix, AZ, working with some of the best athletes in the world. He was the Medical Director for the Sacramento Sports Commission and adjunct faculty in Physical Therapy at Sacramento State University and Northern AZ University. In 2015, Tony was named a finalist for the NSCA Sports Medicine Specialist of the Year and was awarded the 40 Under 40 Award from the Sacramento Business Journal in 2017.