Semi-retired tech innovator cites helping others, developing WiFi among his accomplishments
Rob La Gesse’s resume reads like a Hollywood script.
Navy veteran. Mayor. Wi-Fi development team member. Author.
A man of many talents, La Gesse credits his accomplishments to working with great leaders and innovators of technology. That, and caring about others around him.
“My life, from being a medic to a vice president in a publicly-traded company, has been about how I can empower other people,” La Gesse, 59, said. “I call it compassionate leadership. Everything that happened to me happened because I was nice to someone.”

He grew up in Papineau, Illinois, one of six boys. At 16, his family moved to Corpus Christi. He said it was a memorable trip because they drove through traffic-jammed streets of Memphis on the day of Elvis Presley’s funeral.
College wasn’t a financial option. In 1979, after La Gesse graduated from Mary Carroll High School, he enlisted in the Navy.
La Gesse