Stephen Gilfus

Infobox Celebrity


image_size = 150px
name = Stephen Gilfus
birth_name = Stephen R Gilfus
birth_date = birth date and age|1970|5|24
birth_place = Pittsford, New York United States
ethnicity = American
occupation = Self-made entrepreneur; software and e-learning visionary
salary =
spouse = (Single)
footnotes =

Stephen Gilfus (born May 24, 1970) is best known as a founder of Blackboard Inc. and a visionary leader in e-learning. He was a major contributor to the development of web course management systems and the evolution of teaching and learning online as a founder and developer of the CourseInfo line of products.

Major accomplishments

* In 1996 he won a Business Consulting Award from the entrepreneurship personal enterprise program at Cornell University where he studied as an Academic Scholar.

* In 1997 He wrote the business plan for CourseInfo "Making Education Easier" a company focused on the development of what have now been called "Learning Management Systems" which evolved into what is now Blackboard Inc.

* From 1997 to 2001 he was one of the primary designers and inventors of the Blackboard Learning System and Blackboard Platform.

* In 2004, He constructed and designed Blackboard's "Building Blocks Program" a partner integration strategy that provided extensibility to the core Blackboard Platform.

* In 2004, He was the primary author of the "Educational Technology Framework", a model used to contemplate organizational, technological, and social impact of educational technologies on academic institutions – sometimes referred to as “The Gilfus Model of educational technology adoption” [cite web|last=Ellis| first=Cathy|url=http://www.bbmatters.net/bbmattersproject/Articles/article_item.asp?SubmitArticleID=50|title=Benchmarking Blackboard– From Champions To Transformers|accessdate=2009-02-29] and received an award from his Alma Mater for his contributions in Innovation and Leadership in E-Learning. He has been noted as being instrumental to the development of the eLearning market space and making Blackboard a leading provider of e-Learning software and services.

* In June of that same year Blackboard Inc., based in Washington, D.C., went public, NASDAQ|BBBB. He was a key man to Blackboard's success and ability to go from start-up to a public company. The company enjoys over ~$200 million in annual revenues, with ~950 employees and over a $1B market cap, with Blackboard's flagship products being used by millions of students across more than 3,600 institutions in 70 countries.

* He has presented and keynoted as an e-learning visionary at several leading global industry conferences and has lectured on teaching and learning on the Internet and the growing online learning marketplace at hundred’s of academic institutions within the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, and Latin America.

* On January 17, 2006, Stephen Gilfus (Inventor) and Blackboard were granted US patent 6,988,138 on "Internet-based education support system and methods" (with other multinational patents having been issued or pending) with claims over features of course management systems (US patent|6988138).

Biography

Stephen Gilfus grew up in Pittsford, New York, attended Pittsford Mendon High School and graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1997 as an academic scholar with a Bachelors of Science degree from the undergraduate business program within the Cornell University Department of Applied Economics and Management

While at Cornell, he focused on the development of new businesses through his studies as a part of a burgeoning new series of studies within Cornell's Entrepreneurship Personal Enterprise program.

* In 1996 he founded one of the fastest growing students clubs within Cornell, the Cornell Entrepreneur Organization (CEO), a student organization focused on bringing business and engineering students together while exposing them to successful entrepreneurial alumni. He participated in internships at Morgan Stanley, then Dean Witter-Reynolds, and Trans National Group, a Steve Belkin company. During this period, with keen interests in building organizations, he participated in independent studies on organizational behavior, lead a senior class developing business plans as an Administrative Teaching Assistant and received a Business Consulting Award from Cornell Professors for work performed with a local business.

* In 1997, during his senior year at Cornell University, he co-founded CourseInfo LLC, a small e-learning company focused on the development of an innovative course management system , which merged to form Blackboard Inc. in 1998. As Vice President of Marketing and Sales he directed the businesses initial vision, writing the companies first business plan and developing its foundational sales and marketing strategy. He maintained a special ability to articulate both the strategic benefits and technical details of web course management products to any audience which drove the process of organizing customer feedback with insightful outcomes to create innovative new technology components that met their needs.

* In 1998, CourseInfo LLC and Blackboard LLC merge to form Blackboard Inc. and the CourseInfo team moved from Ithaca,NY to Washington, DC. CourseInfo products became the foundation for Blackboard's product strategy and future products. Core technologies included the Academic Suite and the Blackboard Learning System). At CourseInfo he was the head of Sales and Marketing and a founding partner of the company, enlisting its first 10 clients including, Cornell University, Yale Medical School, Morehead State University and University of Pittsburgh

* From 1997 to 2007, Gilfus worked cross-organizationally within Blackboard holding key leadership positions throughout the company in Marketing and Sales, Product Management/Development, Strategic Development, Global Services, and the Office of the CEO as a facilitator and change agent. He is often noted as a driver of many of the strategic initiatives within the company as well as a key designer and inventor and during this period authored numerous articles and white papers facilitating market understanding of the companies key initiatives:
** Pittinsky, Matthew & Gilfus, Stephen. (2000) Product Strategy and Vision White paper on (B2) Initiative Washington DCcite web|last=Gilfus| first=Stephen| authorlink =| coauthors =Pittinsky| title =Product Strategy and Vision White paper on (B2) Initiative | publisher=Blackboard| date =2000-01-01| url=http://www.ldc.usb.ve/~vtheok/cursos/ci5321/BlackboardBuildingBlocks.pdf| format =| accessdate =2006-11-20|format=PDF]
** Gilfus, Stephen. (2000) Bb Product Strategy and Development Roadmap Washington DC: Blackboard Inc. [http://www.deakin.edu.au/itl/research-eval/lms-evaluation/BlackboardRoadmap.pdf]

* On January 4, 2008 Gilfus resigned from Blackboard Inc., to spend more time working on several new ventures including Gilfus Ventures LLC., a holding company he founded in April 2007. He remains a shareholder of Blackboard Inc. (BBBB).

* On August 1 Gilfus moved [http://www.eventinnovation.com/072208pressrelease.html From Education to Entertainment] to found Event Innovation Inc. with another former Blackboard executive Ron Dinwiddie.

* He sits on the entrepreneurship advisory board for Cornell University. [http://eship.cornell.edu/esh_composer.php?aud=st&col=all&cmd=18&sub=729&ent=http%3A%2F%2Fvivo.library.cornell.edu%2Fns%2F0.1%23individual30609_1_2]

peaking Engagements

He has presented and keynoted several leading global industry conferences and has lectured on teaching and learning, internet technology and e-commerce on the Internet, and the growing online learning marketplace, at hundred’s of academic institutions within the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, and Latin America and several leading industry conferences including EDUCAUSE, SYLLABUS and others.

Investments

Stephen founded Gilfus Ventures LLC. in mid-2007. The investment firm now holds majority stakes in several internet start up companies including EventInnovation.com and UpsideOver.com, an investment in WeddingWire and several other internet software ventures.

On May 7, 2007 [http://www.outdoorindustry.org/media.outdoor.php?news_id=2907 Gilfus Ventures LLC. invested] in, [http://www.upsideover.com UpsideOver.com, an outdoor gear for kids] and active family internet retailer, founded in 2006.

On June 14, 2007 Gilfus Ventures Invested in WeddingWire a new internet based wedding management platform.

On August 1, 2007 Gilfus Ventures LLC. invested in Event Innovation Inc. a new platform for the sports and entertainment industry. Gilfus is currently Chairman and CEO of [http://www.eventinnovation.com Event Innovation Inc.] , a new internet start-up providing social ticketing technologies to consumers and attendee relationship management technologies to stadiums, Arenas and Performing Arts Centers. The company announced [http://www.ovation.com Ovation.com] as part of its social ticketing strategy.

On February 19, 2008 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE: MSO - News) announced a series of transactions, [http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-23119230.htm including an investment in WeddingWire (http://www.weddingwire.com), a localized wedding platform that combines an online marketplace with planning tools and a social community.

On August 1, Stephen joined [http://www.newmarketsfund.com/ New Market Venture Partners] , a leading early stage venture capital firm in the Mid Atlantic Region, as an investment partner.

References

See also

* History of virtual learning environments
* History of virtual learning environments 1990s