Ahmed, Shakeel: - Dr. Shakeel Ahmed is the founder and CEO of Atlas Surgical Group, the largest privately owned group of ambulatory surgery centers in the Midwest. He started his foray into outpatient surgery in Illinois, and over the course of two decades has been instrumental in the design and development, construction, and the running and management of dozens of surgical facilities. His key to success in building a franchise of this type comes not just from his thorough knowledge of the administrative process involved, but also from his intimate involvement as a gastroenterologist who actively performs thousands of procedures at his facilities, thus giving him firsthand exposure to negotiate and manage this highly complex field. Having performed hundreds of thousands of surgeries over the past few decades, Atlas Surgical Group specializes in all different areas of medicine, with special focus on orthopedic surgery, spinal surgery, ophthalmology, gynecology, plastic surgery, podiatry, gastroenterology, pain management, and bariatric surgery.