Our Leadership

Dr. Jay Bronner the CEO and founder of American Orthopedics Partners (AOP) is a neuroradiologist committed to the concept that physicians who are part of a single specialty practice with the right culture and structure are best situated to drive the necessary changes in the healthcare system today and in the future. Jay attended Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and did his residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital after attending Amherst College. Jay is also a co-founder of Radiology Partners (RP), the country’s largest radiology practice with over 3,000 radiologists across the country.

Jay is passionate in his belief that with physician leadership at the local practice level a national or regional practice can effectively enhance clinical value that improve patient outcomes and reduce costs. AOP is founded on the premise that the practice of medicine must be managed locally by physicians entrenched in their local communities and have autonomous decision making supported by the shared resources of a scaled practice owned by the physician partners.

Dr. Bronner has spent much of his time trying to integrate clinical innovation into the everyday practice of medicine. Back in the 1990s, Jay was the CEO of RIC a Chicago-based practice that was the first private practice in the country to adopt the 24-hour-a-day, real-time interpretation of imaging studies. This had a significant impact on turnaround time and the practical triage value of the imaging studies dome in the ED and inpatient setting. Once telemedicine started to emerge in the early 2000s, RIC was the first practice in the US to implement subspecialty-based imaging services across state lines.

At RP, Jay focused on clinical innovation by implementing a series of clinical initiatives as well as working with other senior leaders on partnership development and clinical operations. The clinical programs   incorporated evidence based best practices into the daily workflow and are still used today. The adoption across the practice was supported by a team of dedicated physician leaders, analysts, and data scientists with the in-house creation of a natural language processing allowing incorporation of the clinical algorithms into dictation on the fly. The impact of the adoption of these best practices was qualifiable improvement in patient outcomes and reduction in costs which in some cases saved lives., The program was recognized by numerous professional societies and payers both private and governmental with award-winning honors.

In 2021, Jay was recruited by several private equity firms to start an orthopedic practice – American Orthopedic Partners, a regionally-focused, physician-owned and led practice committed to clinical innovation and putting physicians at the center of leading healthcare.

Dr. Russell Warren brings decades of orthopedics experience to his role as a day-to-day consultant and board member for AOP. He looks forward to building a national physician-led model that enables orthopedists to grow their practices while working collaboratively to practice better.

Well-known in the profession as a pioneer in soft tissue research and an expert in shoulder and knee injuries and disease, Dr. Warren currently serves as surgeon-in-chief emeritus at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and emeritus team physician for the New York Giants.

Dr. Warren has inspired and influenced generations of Sports Medicine fellows and residents at HSS and has been honored by the Orthopedic Research and Education Mentorship Program for his influence on the future of the specialty.

Spending more than a decade directing the soft tissue research laboratory at HSS, discoveries from the laboratory have advanced progress toward better treatments that reduce pain and restore mobility for patients with soft tissue injuries of the shoulder and knee. The hospital established the Russell F. Warren Research Chair in soft tissue research in 2005 to ensure this area of study continues in perpetuity. He has published more than 400 papers, actively 500, on various orthopedic topics related to disease and injury of the shoulder and knee.

Dr. Warren has received the Neer Award with ASES six times since 1989 and the Jerry “Hawk” Rhea Award for Outstanding NFL Team Physician in 2004. Serving as AOSSM Board President in 1995, he received AOSSM’s O’Donoghue Award for Sports Medicine Research three times. He also won the Humana Award for Clinical Research in 1992 and Mr. Sports Medicine in 2003.

Dr. Warren received his undergraduate degree from Columbia College. After receiving his medical degree from the State University of New York at Syracuse, he completed a two-year surgical residency at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York. He went on to serve as a Lt. Commander for the U.S. Navy during Vietnam. For his service, Dr. Warren received the U.S. Navy Medal of Commendation.

Following his work in the U.S. Navy, Dr. Warren returned to New York and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery. He completed a fellowship in shoulder surgery with Dr. Neer at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in 1977. Around the same time, Dr. Warren began his teaching career in orthopedics at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Subsequently, he became chairman of orthopedics and Surgeon-in-Chief at HSS from 1993-2003. He has also served as the team physician for the New York Giants since 1981.

Dr. Ted Schlegel is a prominent orthopedic surgeon and a proven leader in medicine. As the President/Chief Medical Officer, Ted ensures the delivery of clinical excellence across the AOP organization by providing guidance and subject matter expertise for clinical innovation and the development of best practices. He is passionate about sharing evidence-based treatment protocols and strategic clinical program initiatives with his orthopedic physician peers to help them deliver greater clinical value to their patients.

Having worked in a variety of clinical and academic settings for close to 30 years, Ted brings a deep understanding of the challenges orthopedic surgeons face in a rapidly evolving healthcare environment.  Ted joined AOP from the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Denver, where he was a founding member. In 2016, he orchestrated a strategic partnership with UC Health and the University of Colorado School of Medicine to create a state-of-the-art orthopedic facility for sports medicine. While there, Ted held the Endowed Chair of the Hawkins Sports Medicine Research Program, served as Fellowship Director for the sports medicine program, and was the Director of Research and Innovation for the UC Inverness Center. After retiring from his clinical and surgical practice, Ted was honored with the emeritus associate professor position in the Department of Orthopedics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Ted’s clinical work and research have led to the development of several innovative FDA-approved technologies. He was a co-founder of a medical device start-up company (Opus Medical) that created the first all-arthroscopic knotless rotator cuff repair system and was eventually sold to Arthrocare. He also led the research team as a co-chair of the scientific advisory board to help develop a novel technique for treating partial thickness rotator cuff tears using a patented collagen scaffold (Rotational Medical).

Ted served as a team physician for the Denver Broncos for 18 years. During that time, he led several research projects on sports injuries specific to high-level football players. In 2012, he received the prestigious “Outstanding NFL Team Physician Award”.

As a serial medical business entrepreneur, Ted is dedicated to looking for effective strategies to curb the soaring costs of healthcare delivery. As Co-Founder of the North American Specialty Hospital (NASH), he helped design an innovative new healthcare delivery model that has resulted in significant savings for self-funded companies.

Ted earned his Doctor of Medicine (MD) from the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine and a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences from Brown University. He completed his residency training in orthopedic surgery at the University of Utah, followed by a sports medicine fellowship at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail, CO.

Over the past eight years, Cody’s professional focus has been orthopedic practice development and driving operational performance to create an unparalleled patient experience.  Most recently, Cody worked as Chief Operating Officer at Arcis Healthcare, Lowcountry Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, where he implemented a results-driven approach to identify and capture new opportunities to sustain business growth in a market where the competitive landscape is quickly changing.

Prior to his time with Arcis Healthcare, Lowcountry Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Cody launched a private neurosurgery practice and led all aspects of organizational development as its Chief Executive Officer.

Before moving back into the private practice environment, Cody was acting Surgical Practice Director with Centura Health Physician Group’s specialty practices working collaboratively with medical staff and senior leadership to align organizational initiatives and drive strategic growth and performance.

Outside of work, Cody is a husband and father to two daughters.  He enjoys spending time hiking, kayaking, skiing, traveling, and being with his family.

Nicole Banning has been the CEO of two private Orthopaedic practices in Colorado Springs, CO over the past eight years. Most recently she served in a dual role as CEO of Colorado Center of Orthopaedic Excellence and the Vice President of Operations for Orthopaedic Centers of Colorado.

Nicole spent 15 years in Human Resources and three years as a Chief Operating Officer in the healthcare field, prior to her taking over the role of CEO. Her efforts in operations at Colorado Springs Orthopaedic Group led to significant savings year after year and increased profits by several million dollars over the course of three years. Additionally, Nicole expanded the practice’s footprint by opening up an orthopedic urgent care that generated $1.6 million in downstream revenue within two years. Nicole also led payer contracting negotiations that resulted in positive gains for the practice.

Most recently, she was responsible for bringing the revenue cycle functions in-house for two divisions, marketing, overseeing and driving ancillary efficiencies that generated additional revenue to the physician shareholders, physician recruitment that doubled the physician practice, negotiated hand and upper extremity call with the hospital, and worked within the real estate space to design and build a MOB and Ambulatory Surgery Center.

In her free time, Nicole enjoys spending time in the outdoors with her family, traveling, staying active, and hunting.

Nabeel Ahmed is a distinguished finance executive with over 17 years of extensive financial management experience in the healthcare industry. Currently serving as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Nabeel is a hands-on leader and trusted strategic advisor known for empowering the business with tools and information to drive exceptional performance. With a high level of integrity and a patient-centric mindset, he enjoys solving problems and has a proven track record of driving growth and profitability, coupled with a deep understanding of healthcare providers’ contributions to the healthcare system.

With a rich and diverse background working with both public and privately held companies, Nabeel most recently served as Vice President at The Aspen Group, driving new business development, operations, and favorable financial outcomes in the urgent care and dental industry while fostering valuable relationships with healthcare providers. He played a pivotal role in Aspen Dental’s remarkable growth from 600 to 1,200 locations, showcasing an entrepreneurial mindset and a proactive approach to driving expansion.  He also served in a variety of other finance roles for The Aspen Group, including Financial Planning & Analysis and Operational Finance.

Nabeel has a wealth of experience in strategic transformation initiatives and leveraging analytics to drive business forward. Prior to joining The Aspen Group, Nabeel spent 10 years at Walgreens in roles including pharmacy, payer relations, and new product innovation.  He also led the financial planning and analysis department for Walgreens US partnering with leaders across the globe to drive transformational initiatives.

Nabeel holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Accounting, complemented by a CPA qualification.

Outside of the boardroom, Nabeel resides in Chicago with his wife, daughter, and son and is actively involved in the community.