caption name birth_date image article_title birth_name occupation
john at guelph university baker , president and ceo of d2l speaking john baker 29 december 1976 john_baker . jpg john baker -lrb- entrepreneur -rrb-
 '' ` john baker '' ' president and ceo of desire2learn
john baker -lrb- entrepreneur -rrb-

john baker founded the elearning or learning management systems -lrb- lms -rrb- company desire2learn in 1999 after identifying his own unfulfilled need for learning online while studying systems design engineering at the university of waterloo .
baker and desire2learn are perhaps best known for the legal battle they were engaged in after their major competitor blackboard inc. obtained a contentious software patent and immediately filed suit against desire2learn .
desire2learn finally won the approximately 3-year battle with a victory in the us court of appeals in july 2009 .
baker has won numerous awards including top 40 under 40 in waterloo region in 2009 , has been inducted into the entrepreneur hall of fame in waterloo region as intreprid entrepreneur of the year in 2009 , and received the university of waterloo engineering young alumni achievement medal in 2010 .
john is a member of the advisory board at the university of waterloo stratford campus .
