Caldecott PartnersLet’s talk
Company · acquired by Cobalt Service Partners

Digi Security Systems

Founded 2003 in Tulsa by Josh Herron · 5 offices · sold to Cobalt, Jun 2024

Page as of Sep 30, 2026The sale ↓

Legacy

The founder’s story · from the public record

Digi started as a side project. In 2003 Josh Herron was a software developer at RAE Corporation, a commercial refrigeration and HVAC manufacturer in Pryor, Oklahoma, when he noticed that local organisations had few good options for security systems and, in his words, "figured I might as well start tinkering." He began helping nearby organisations install and maintain their systems, and soon Digi was set up as a standalone business inside RAE. In 2014 RAE, led by Eric Swank, took a majority stake. Josh Herron, Cobalt company page · Cobalt announcement, Jun 25, 2024 · Infinity Capital Partners release

Herron has said the early days were a grind and that the company "made too many mistakes to list"; what carried it through was a commitment to its partners and its people. That became the company's line, "People Are Our Purpose," which still headlines the website, and a written set of core values (integrity, service, accountability, kindness, communicating with intention) that the site says every employee must share regardless of role. Josh Herron, Cobalt company page · The Digi Difference

The business it built serves school districts, universities, city halls, courthouses, sheriffs' offices and hospitals across Oklahoma and Texas: at the time of the sale it had more than 100 employees in Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Dallas and had served more than 1,000 customers, with what Cobalt called a particularly strong record in education. The testimonials Digi publishes come from Fort Worth ISD, the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, Deer Creek Public Schools and Stillwater Regional Airport, among others. Cobalt announcement · Digi reviews page

The people side was built deliberately. Digi had a Chief People Officer, Brooke Lade, for eight years, a team dedicated to employee experience with weekly kickoffs and recognition, a professional-development function with coaching plans, and whole days each year set aside for volunteering in the communities it serves; the careers page also lists a 4% 401(k) match and paid phones and tools. Digi careers page · Cobalt team page (Brooke Lade bio)

When it came time to sell, Herron said more than a hundred companies had approached Digi. He and RAE chose Cobalt for two reasons he set out himself: values alignment from the first meeting ("it all starts with people") and a model that would let Digi "go bigger and faster" while keeping its brand and local culture. Eric Swank of RAE said he "couldn't ask for a better company" to partner with. Herron stayed on as President, with the executive team continuing in their roles and Cobalt planning to add a CEO. Josh Herron, Cobalt company page · Cobalt announcement

The team

The people who built it

Digi's rebuilt website (Nov 2025) carries no team page and no photographs of named people. The executive team named at the sale was Josh Herron (President), Tyler Nichols (Vice President), Brooke Lade (Chief People Officer) and Kaitlyn Verity (Vice President of Operations). Technicians and project managers are named in customer testimonials (Ernesto, James, Sean, Jerry, Dylan, Matt).

Digi headquarters and fleet, from Cobalt's company page
Digi headquarters and fleet, from Cobalt's company page · source
Cobalt + Digi announcement graphic
Cobalt + Digi announcement graphic · source

In the community

What they gave back · on the record
  • Digi says it dedicates whole days each year to volunteering in the communities it serves and runs donation campaigns for charities through the year. Digi careers page
  • Digi publishes an Alyssa's Law resource for schools, explaining the panic-alert mandate named for Alyssa Alhadeff and how Oklahoma and Texas districts can comply. Digi: Alyssa's Law
  • Member of the Security Industry Association since June 2023 (listed as an Integrator, primary contact Victoria Weible) and an active member of the Tulsa Regional Chamber. SIA member directory · Tulsa Regional Chamber directory
  • A Love County Sheriff's Office testimonial describes meeting a Digi rep at the Oklahoma Sheriffs' Association conference, a sign of the company's presence at state law-enforcement events. Digi reviews page

In their words

6 public statements by the founder and team
  • 2024-06-25
    Cobalt Acquires Digi Security Systems press
    Josh Herron; Eric Swank; Anthony Gonzalez · cobaltsp.com; also Business Wire, Alpine newsroom, SDM, Security Sales & Integration · Buyer's announcement. Herron: 'The Cobalt team is phenomenal'; over a hundred companies sought a partnership, Cobalt stood out as dedicated to people. Eric Swank (RAE CEO) and Anthony Gonzalez also quoted. Names the executive team staying and says Cobalt will appoint a CEO.
  • 2024-06-25
    Cobalt Service Partners Acquires Tulsa-Based Digi Security Systems press
    Josh Herron; Eric Swank; Ben Lewallen · Infinity Capital Partners (seller's banker) · The only seller-side release in the Cobalt portfolio. Says the deal closed June 5, 2024, that RAE took a majority stake in 2014, that management remains in place, and names advisors: Infinity Capital (banker), McAfee & Taft (seller counsel), Kirkland & Ellis (Cobalt counsel). Same Herron and Swank quotes; adds Ben Lewallen of Infinity.
  • 2024
    Founding Story / Why Cobalt? (Digi Security Systems page) essay
    Josh Herron · cobaltsp.com (Our Companies) · Herron's own account: starting Digi 'just over 20 years ago' while a software developer at RAE, the grind of the early years, 'Digi feels like family', and the two reasons for choosing Cobalt (values alignment; a model that lets Digi grow while 'we still get to be Digi').
  • 2024-06-25
    Cobalt Service Partners Acquires Digi Security Systems press
    Josh Herron; Eric Swank · SDM Magazine · Trade-press pickup of the release with the same Herron and Swank quotes; SDM's related-items list also references an earlier item 'Digi Security Systems Partners With Gallagher'.
  • 2024-06-25
    Cobalt Service Partners Acquires Digi Security Systems press
    Josh Herron · Security Sales & Integration · Trade-press pickup of the release.
  • 2026-06 to 2026-08
    Digi blog (school layered security, courthouse security, commercial installation guide, healthcare duress systems) post
    Digi Security Systems · digiss.com · Company-authored educational posts published after the site rebuild; no named executive byline.

Founder Q&A

In their own words · by email · published with permission

We’d like Josh (Joshua) Herron to tell this story in their own words. Ran this company, or built it alongside the founder? Ten questions by email, answered at your pace, published only with your OK.

The sale

As both sides told it · on the public record
Announced Jun 25, 2024 By Cobalt (Business Wire); seller's advisor Infinity Capital Partners; Alpine newsroom Deal #7 for Cobalt Service Partners Founder stayed Business Wire, Jun 25, 2024
What Cobalt Service Partners said

Cobalt announced Digi on June 25, 2024 as its seventh acquisition and largest disclosed target: 100+ employees, three offices, 1,000+ customers, strongest in education. Herron and the executive team (Nichols, Lade, Verity) would continue in their roles and Cobalt planned to appoint a CEO 'in the near-term'. Anthony Gonzalez: 'Digi is exactly the kind of organization Cobalt is looking to partner with.' Cobalt's company page dates the acquisition to June 2024.

Announcement
What the founder said

Herron said over a hundred companies had sought a partnership and Cobalt stood out as dedicated to people; on Cobalt's site he gave two reasons: values alignment from the first meeting, and a model that would help Digi 'go bigger and faster' while preserving its brand and local culture. Majority owner Eric Swank (RAE) said he 'couldn't ask for a better company' to partner with.

Source

Terms on the record: Nothing public on price or structure. Public facts: closed June 5, 2024 (per the seller's banker); seller was RAE Corporation (majority since 2014) with founder Herron; management stayed. Advisors: Infinity Capital Partners (sell-side investment bank, Oklahoma City); McAfee & Taft (seller counsel); Kirkland & Ellis (Cobalt counsel).

What happened after

Public signals since the sale · dated
  • 2024-06-05
    Transaction closes (date per Infinity Capital Partners). source
  • 2024-06-25
    Cobalt, Alpine, Business Wire, Infinity Capital, SDM and SSI publish the announcement. source
  • by 2026-09
    Chief People Officer Brooke Lade moves to Cobalt HQ as VP of People Operations; former HR Specialist Victoria Weible becomes Cobalt's Director of HR, Partner Companies. source
  • 2025-11
    Website rebuilt (new logo and image files dated Nov 2025; pages last edited Mar to Aug 2026). The new site does not mention Cobalt or Alpine, has no team page, and lists five offices including Cypress (Houston) TX and Springdale AR, up from three at the sale. source
  • 2026-09-28
    Homepage counters read 140 staffed security experts, 4,700+ projects, 23,295 service tickets closed (vs 'over 100 employees' at the sale). source
  • 2026-09-28
    Greenhouse job board (a Cobalt-standard board) lists 19 open roles across Dallas, Tulsa, Houston and Oklahoma City, including a Dallas General Manager and a Technician Training & Development Specialist. source
  • 2026-09-28
    No Digi CEO appears on Cobalt's team page and no CEO appointment has been announced; Herron is still shown as President in public search snippets (LinkedIn title). source
  • 2026-05 (Yelp snippet date)
    Yelp Tulsa listing shows 14 photos (review count not visible in the snippet). Google rating not fetchable. Earlier research brief recorded Glassdoor 1.6 across 10 reviews, mostly pre-deal; not re-checked. source

Then and now

Founder and leadership
Josh (Joshua) Herron
Founder & President
Stayed President (per announcement; public search snippet still shows 'President at Digi Security Systems') source
Eric Swank
CEO of RAE Corporation, Digi's majority owner since 2014
Left Seller; no post-sale role stated source
Tyler Nichols
Vice President
Now Continued in role per announcement; no later public update source
Brooke Lade
Chief People Officer (eight years at Digi)
Stayed VP of People Operations, Cobalt Service Partners source
Kaitlyn Verity
Vice President of Operations
Now Continued in role per announcement; no later public update source
Victoria Weible
HR Specialist, Digi
Stayed Director of HR, Partner Companies, Cobalt source

Companies Cobalt Service Partners also bought

20 on the public record

All 21 transactions →

Sources

Everything above, dated Sep 30, 2026

Unverified at publish: Whether Cobalt ever appointed the Digi CEO it promised in June 2024 (none announced, none on Cobalt's team page); Herron's current day-to-day role beyond the 'President' title in search snippets; when the Houston and Springdale offices opened; Google and Glassdoor ratings now (platforms blocked); no founder photograph exists on any permitted source.