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Cirque du Soleil’s Daniel Lamarre: from $ 1bn to zero in 48 hours

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“I never thought in my life that within 48 hours, I [would go] from a billion dollars. . . of zero money, and there were people who said the debt was too much, this and that. The fact is, when you have no money, it does not matter what your debt is: you have no money. Time. Full stop. “

Daniel Lamarre is aware of high standards – not just the symbolic race. During his 20 years as chief operating officer, he helped lead Cirque du Soleil through organizational reforms, global economic crises, and natural and commercial disasters. He always managed to keep a whole circus band show from Montreal on the street. Until March 2020.

In what Lamarre now calls “Black Friday”, March 13, 71 Cirque theaters around the world were abolished as governments tried to stop the spread of coronavirus. “All travel shows are down, but if Vegas is still open, we’re fine,” Lamarre assured his wife. The next day, Nevada closed non-essential businesses and casinos in Las Vegas where Cirque had six exhibitions closed permanently. “I came home and I was clean,” Lamarre said in a November interview. “I said to my wife, ‘It’s over.’

Lamarre tells the story of his plague with Cirque in the well-known English language of Québecois, with the skill of the singer. But there is not much hope for his brand that can hide the stress of the past two years. Mr Lamarre had to evacuate staff and paramedics from several airstrips when the planes were stopped and the border closed. In less than a week on Friday, he had to leave 95 percent of Cirque’s crew – 4,679 people – on video. He took the company to bankruptcy protection in June 2020, and ran it with orthopedic staff. Two months later, the former chief executive of the former Investor, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, said Cirque was one of the first businesses to close and would be the last to reopen.

Lamarre and his team have already confirmed the prediction. Two Vegas shows, The secret and THE, reopened in June 2021. Views have begun to change. Lamarre said: “I do not have to start doing well again. The race is there. And more than I expected. Not only is the increase in ticket sales, but it is encouraging to say that we want to partner with Cirque du Soleil.. ”

But coronavirus is still dangerous. Lamarre said this two days before the World Health Organization described it as “extremely widespread.” Omicron range in November. When asked again just before Christmas, Mr Lamarre was unsure if a new strategy would be put in place for English theater, which could threaten the return of Cirque du Soleil to London this week. An exhibition inspired by Mexico Lucia. The opening Wednesday at Royal Albert Hall is expected to continue. However, all over the world, Cirque, as an athlete and gymnast, has to be an athlete. “We’re playing with different scenarios: how, if, if, and so on,” Canada said last month.

Lamarre, now 68, will not be responsible for how Cirque changes “whatever it may be”. He gave the job of an elder at Stéphane Lefebvre on December 1, taking on a new role as second to second in command. As chief financial officer, Lefebvre assisted Lamarre to form an alliance with debtors in 2020. repair brought in $ 375m of new currency and left circuses under debt to be led by Catalyst Capital, a Canadian financial group working on troubled debt.

Some see the change as a sign of a major change that began in 2015 when another buyer, TPG Capital, took control of Cirque from its driving force Guy Laliberté. Patrick Leroux, a professor at Montreal’s Concordia University and a circus specialist, pays tribute to Lamarre, a former radio director, who led the transformation and growth of the Cirque epidemic with a combination of risk and technical expertise. Lefebvre, in contrast, is a “supervisor and accountant: the man who has to deal with the next few waves of the plague,” says Leroux.

Lamarre instead emphasizes Lefebvre’s six years of entrenched culture in the Cirque du Soleil culture, and its “involvement in the arts and the environment”. He has provided for the business, however, in which his ambitions were thwarted by the devastation of the plague and the return of money.

Three questions for Daniel Lamarre

Who is your leadership hero?

Steve Jobs is my heroic leader for his dedication to innovation and his passion for amazing design.

If you were not the CEO / leader, who would you be?

I can be my mentor to politicians, business people and artists and help them succeed. It’s great to see people achieve what they can.

What was your first leadership lesson?

My first leadership lesson was the need to motivate employees to follow the team’s goal – for us: a new show!

Cirque plunged into the 2020 crisis by carrying a $ 900m debt, a TPG-funded purchasing venture in 2015, based on a predictable trend of $ 1bn a year and an exit for the first sale or disbursement of individuals. As Lamarre pointed out, it was not the debt that closed Cirque. But he added in November that he would “lie [if I said] I would not be wise [in future], because obviously that was very difficult to get through ”.

During those few days in March, Lamarre left “probably the most exciting job in the world[to]risks ”, not only to deal with the financial crisis but also to face protests from independent individuals over Cirque’s failure to meet their $ 1.5m demand. In his new book Organizing Acts, published this month, Lamarre writes that “to save the company, I had to violate the real purpose of my life – to create works for artists”.

Leroux of Concordia University says the sports world “needs a strong Cirque du Soleil, because it is the company’s engine”. But even though the volunteers were later paid out of a fund set up as part of debt restructuring, they believe the epidemic has changed the relationship between Cirque and his allies. Some realized that they did not want to work for a large company; others began seeking independence.

Artists perform at Cirque du Soleil's 'Mystère' in Las Vegas.  Lamarre says that on 'Black Friday, when 71 Cirque theaters around the world were abolished, he told his wife,' It's over '.

Artists perform at Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Mystère’ in Las Vegas. Lamarre says that on Black Friday, when 71 Cirque theaters around the world were abolished, he told his wife, ‘It’s over’ © Cirque du Solei / Getty

Lamarre said Cirque had tried to “connect with our artists throughout this crisis, even though they were not our employees”. He also declined to comment on whether the group, which includes other actors, such as the Blue Man Group, has grown significantly and has lost momentum. The future, however, is concerned with “market management” as it does in manufacturing. Lamarre said in November that he expects Cirque to change the “model” of tourism, so that the group can visit more lucrative markets such as London or Los Angeles more often. At the same time, he said, Cirque is also needed, as “anchor makers” of new hotel entertainment and entertainment.

As a self-proclaimed Olympic athlete on the podium, Lamarre claims to have survived months after circuses. By the end of November, about 1,000 of the nearly 2,000 Cirque professionals who had worked before 2020 had already joined Cirque, mainly in the revival of the established institute. Lamarre thinks Cirque should be ready to showcase new shows in 2023. The idea of ​​these new releases is already evident: excitement and celebration. “Four or five different groups of producers came back to us and said: ‘We don’t want to do black shows right now. We want to be happy. ‘”

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