[caption id="" align="alignright" width="304"] Donna Abbott-Vlahos | Albany Business Review[/caption]

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Fernando Gómez-Baquero was looking for a technology to commercialize when he moved from Colombia to the United States to study at Albany's nanocollege. Gómez-Baquero, who co-founded the first student company to spin out of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, left a corporate job in his mid-20s to build a career in the growing field of nanotechnology. He didn't want to wonder "what could have been" if he didn't follow his interest in nanotechnology. Today, he's the CEO of Bess Technologies, a startup focused on building better lithium-ion batteries for use in consumer electronics, electric vehicles and other applications.

What early experiences shaped your life? I graduated high school in Colombia and went to the Army. In Columbia at that time, it was mandatory for a year. I got the opportunity to be stationed in Egypt. I had two  jobs. One job was translator. My other job was as a reporter. When I was there, I had one month off so I traveled. I went to India, Thailand, Hong Kong and China. That was a very interesting experience for me. I don't know of anybody who doesn't say the military is a very strong experience. It gave me a lot of discipline. There's a lot of humility involved as well. It also was the opportunity to travel and be on my own.

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