Veteran operations executive Billie Payne has told the board of AmSurg she will retire next August, by which time she will have spent 17 years at the surgery center operator.

Payne has been senior vice president of operations at Burton Hills-based AmSurg since 2007. Before that, she was VP of operations from the spring of 1998 on. Her total 2011 compensation package was worth more than $820,000.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, AmSurg officials say they will take their time to look for a successor to Payne, but did not say they have hired a search firm.

Shares of AmSurg (Ticker: AMSG) closed Thursday trading at $29.64. Year to date, they have risen about 14 percent.