Distinguished Alumni Award
Jon Lensing (20MD)
Jon Lensing co-founded OpenLoop in 2019, when he was a medical student at the University of Iowa. As CEO of the telehealth company, he has applied his leadership, research, and technology skills to grow the company nationwide with the vision to bring healing anywhere.
Lensing was planning to become a plastic surgeon when he and Christian Williams, OpenLoop’s chief operating officer and co-founder, saw a need for improved telehealth access for all and launched their startup. During the pandemic, OpenLoop evolved to deliver connected and seamless clinical support to virtual care companies, growing to more than 180 employees in five years.
OpenLoop is the latest of Lensing’s startup successes. In 2015, he co-founded GR Drone, an aerial imagery company. From 2016 to 2019, he led research for SwineTech, an Iowa startup that develops piglet-saving technology.
Lensing was named the University of Iowa Young Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year in 2022 and was listed on the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30. OpenLoop has received millions in funding as well as many awards, including the Technology Association of Iowa’s 2022 Prometheus Award for Software Development Company of the Year.
Driven to help as many people as he can, Lensing also volunteers to address hunger and opioid crises.
Richard L. Ferguson, the board chair for OpenLoop, says, “I rank Jon among the strongest leaders with whom I have been associated, and he continues to grow and impress. He has conducted himself in a manner that honors the spirit of the university’s core values.”
About Distinguished Alumni Awards
Since 1963, the University of Iowa has annually recognized accomplished alumni and friends with Distinguished Alumni Awards. Awards are presented in seven categories: Achievement, Service, Hickerson Recognition, Faculty, Staff, Recent Graduate, and Friend of the University.