A history of enabling customer transformation
In 1976, Primary Systems was founded in St. Louis, MO as a uniquely qualified company to provide for the design installation and maintenance of Life Safety systems. For over 40 years, Primary Systems has provided customized and comprehensive solutions within the greater St. Louis, Southern & Central Illinois Healthcare and K-12 Education markets.
Primary Systems is the trusted source for communication, security, and life safety solutions that meet the needs of our customers. We utilize a consultative approach to conduct an in-depth needs analysis, enabling our customers to fulfill their mission critical processes. As industries continue to evolve, we constantly research and select only the best-in class product collection. Our mission is to utilize these products to create an integrated solution with your goals and needs in mind, ensuring satisfaction, flawless integration, and system adoption. At Primary Systems, we strive to exceed your expectations and invest the time and resources into every job.
Proud members of
Leadership Team
Steven Potts
President
Steven brings over thirty years of leadership experience in the management, sales, and marketing fields. Prior to Primary Systems, he was Director of Sales at Lucent Technologies with an impressive record of P&L management and operations and marketing. Steven has also worked with various start-up firms to establish market presence and strategic accounts in the Telecommunications field.
Tony Perotti
CTO/VP, Operations
Tony is an innovative and forward-thinking leader with successful experience in hands-on technical design, development, and implementation operations with particular expertise in enterprise-based integrations, interoperability, and end-user support services management. As CTO, Tony plays a key role in the continued development of Primary Systems’ corporate vision and strategy along with transforming that vision into detailed action plans that result in cutting-edge technology solutions.
Allen Crockett
VP, Sales
Since joining Primary Systems in 2021 Allen has held the role of Vice President of Sales with responsibility over the growth for the company and its sales-related operational aspects. Allen has been on the manufacturer side of healthcare for almost 20 years in executive management roles with product leaders such as Ascom, Primex, Teletracking and Versus. As a product visionary, Allen enjoys delivering smart, cost-effective solutions that solves customer needs. Allen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Relations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Frank Henry
VP, Regional
Frank joined Primary Systems in January of 2009 and has held numerous positions within the company including marketing, project management, and information technology. Frank brings over 13 years of experience in healthcare clinical communication, integration and telemedicine. Frank currently serves as Regional Vice President for Primary Systems and is responsible for the growth of our Central Illinois and Fort Wayne regions. Prior to joining Primary Systems, Frank served as a Regional Systems Engineer at Ascom US where he was responsible for promoting, selling, and demonstrating Ascom (US) products, solutions, and services within 14 states. Frank also was the Manager, Project Management at Hicuity Health, the world’s largest independent tele-ICU company, where he was responsible for the overall client implementation process and experience. Frank holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications and Marketing from Southeast Missouri State University.
Erik Pemberton
Director, Clinical Services
Erik Pemberton joined the company in 2007 as a Clinical Applications Specialist. As a Registered Nurse (RN) with over 28 years of clinical nursing and executive management experience, Erik brings an extraordinary wealth of clinical bedside experience, lean consulting, and workflow design to the company. Erik and his team of clinicians are responsible for the designing and implementing complex workflow solutions, consulting with customers to refine processes for efficiency, and to ensure staff members are trained and proficient in the use of advanced applications in order to achieve and sustain key clinical performance metrics and indicators. The Clinical Services team includes three Clinical Application Specialists, as well as a dedicated Clinical Informaticist for collecting and analyzing data, development of custom reports and dashboards for customers, and other lean process management expertise. Erik obtained is Bachelors of Nursing (BSN) from Truman University, and his MBA from Webster University. He is also a Board-Certified Nurse Executive (NE-BC), and a Certified Lean Practitioner in Healthcare (CLP-H). Prior to joining Primary Systems, Erik worked in a variety of acute care settings as a Staff Nurse, Manager, and Director including Cardiovascular ICU, Burn, Trauma, Flight Nursing, Telemetry, and Transplant services.
Josh Wells
Director, IT Services
Josh joined Primary Systems in March of 2016 and brings over 15 years of experience in Information Technology and Managed Services. Josh currently serves as Director of IT Services for Primary Systems and is responsible for the implementation, configuration, and support of custom solutions in an evolving Healthcare IT industry. Prior to joining Primary Systems, Josh served as Manager of Technical Support & Infrastructure at Connectria Hosting, a St. Louis based, Managed Service Provider. While at Connectria, Josh later transitioned to a role as Manager of Data Center Operations where he was involved with data center deployments in 3 states. Josh has a passion for technology and supporting applications that provide clinical value to both patients and clinical caregivers. Josh holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Management & Information Systems from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
Laura Kostial
CFO
Laura joined Primary Systems in May of 2022. She brings with her over 30 years of managerial accounting experience in the areas of internal auditing, cost accounting, international finance, data management and contract negotiation. As the Controller for Primary Systems, Laura is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the accounting department as well as all financial reporting. Prior to her employment with Primary Systems, Laura worked for several, larger Fortune 500 manufacturing companies, including Emerson Electric where she was the assistant controller of the Maquiladora Division; and several midsized companies, including Thermal Mechanics, a mechanical engineering company serving the construction industry, where she served as controller. Laura is particularly interested in the areas of work flow automation and forensic accounting. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of Missouri and Ibero-Americana in Mexico City and graduate work at Washington University Olin School of Business.