The ‘healthy tension’ facing the world’s greatest circus
When you think of circuses today, one name comes to mind.
Cirque Du Soleil.
The circus is renowned worldwide, with millions of people flocking to see their shows in the flesh.
The mastermind behind the entertainment giant is CEO Daniel Lamarre and he tells Ross Greenwood balancing creative concepts and profit margins is a delicate process.
“Creating a new show starts with the idea but finance comes into it,” Mr Lamarre says.
“We like to see that there is a healthy tension between the two.
“You have to give a lot of freedom to your creator if you want them to bring the best possible show on Planet Earth. But at the same time, you have to be disciplined.”
Cirque Du Soleil tours in 450 cities around the world and employs 5,000 people, with over a thousand working purely in the creative space.
Mr Lamarre says when it comes to their major shareholder TPG Capital and its influence on the business, he keeps them well away from the creators.
“I want my creators to think about creativity. I want them to eat and sleep and think about creating our new show. I want them to be totally arms length from TPG.”
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