Cirque du Soleil’s Stéphane Lefebvre: How We Rose from the Ashes

In March 2020, Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil had to cancel all 44 shows worldwide, lay off 95% of their workforce, and was forced to file for bankruptcy protection. Three years later, they are back and stronger than ever before. How did Cirque du Soleil achieve the impossible? We speak with Cirque du Soleil’s President and CEO Stéphane Lefebvre on what it took to overcome the crisis, the impact of a new management structure, and his hopes for Cirque du Soleil’s future. 

*This article is a recap of the session, Rising Like a Phoenix from the Ashes with Stéphane Lefebvre, President & CEO of Cirque du Soleil.  

   

Walk us through a typical day as the CEO of Cirque du Soleil.

It’s hard to describe a typical day, but it involves similar activities to other CEOs. Yes, I do review financial performances and KPIs with the team. But I feel privileged because I have the opportunity to travel and meet our performers and artists, go backstage, and experience what it’s like to be on tour. I also have the chance to be part of the creative reviews of new productions.  

However, I will never pretend to be a creator or artistic director. As the CEO, I make comments that are in relation to the intent of the show. How do we capture our fans’ attention? How do we make sure that the show will enrich the audience? My role is putting in place the structure that allows our creators to create freely and with as few constraints as possible.  

I have an artistic opinion but not artistic expertise. I will share what the strongest and weakest elements of a show are. What I don’t want to do is go beyond my personal opinion and pretend that I’ve got artistic expertise in casting or acrobatic design or aesthetic design.  

I’ve always been a fan of Cirque du Soleil. I attend between five and 10 Cirque du Soleil shows a month. But I also see other live entertainment because I want my team and myself to know what’s out there and see what people are interested in. 

 

How would you describe your leadership philosophy?

I think it boils down to having the right people around you. I feel very fortunate to have all the right people around to build a strong management team. I make it a point to meet many people in the organization at different levels. I picture myself as someone who can help people do their jobs. So, I always ask if there’s anything I can do to help. Often, I feel that people need help making decisions more than being directed in a strong way.  

My leadership style could appear easygoing. I’m not the kind of person who will yell. But make no mistake, I don’t like not meeting our targets and objectives and my team knows that well. 

 

How has being Cirque du Soleil’s CEO impacted your identity as a leader?

I worked in the aviation industry for 20 years, which I really enjoyed as I got to travel the world and live as an expatriate in different countries. I spent a lot of time abroad and got to know many different cultures, which was a very rich experience. l moved from a world leader in the niche aviation market to another world leader with Cirque du Soleil.  

What I think is growing more in me is a sense of purpose. All companies have a sense of purpose beyond making money, but it’s in Cirque du Soleil’s DNA to make the world a little better with every show we put on in different markets. 

I believe it does that by being a role model to young kids. I have two daughters, and they sometimes come with me and see the show. In every market Cirque du Soleil goes to, we offer a number of tickets to people in need, especially kids. Unfortunately, some children don’t have good role models in their lives. When they go to a show, they are impressed and inspired by what they see. At Cirque du Soleil, we have done our job if we inspire just one kid to change his or her life, we have done our job.  

My youngest is eight and she started to see shows right after COVID. And quite frankly, she doesn’t really know what I do, she’s impressed by the performers but not so much by her father who’s the CEO. And you know, she wants to become a circus artist. She’s into gymnastics and doing tricks at home. 

 

What are your personal goals for the future of Cirque du Soleil?

I’d like the company to go back to our roots. The company was created in the mid-80s and literally reinvented the circus art form. I don’t think we can reinvent the art form again, but I think it’s important to go back to those roots and look at a future with more diversity than we’ve had in recent years.  

I want Cirque du Soleil to become very ambitious again in the way we touch our audience.  The world has changed. We went through a very hard two years during COVID. It’s clear that the world needs to gather and connect with each other again. And I do believe that Cirque du Soleil can be a catalyst for that. As a personal goal, I really want to emphasize how Cirque du Soleil can connect people both physically and digitally.  

   

What was it like navigating the crisis as a CFO and CEO?

It was a really hard period. I remember that week in March 2020 very well.  

On Monday, we were a company with $1 billion in revenue. In six days, it went down to zero.  

We had to take some drastic measures that were extremely difficult. At the time, we had different shareholders that were supportive of the company, and we wanted to find a path through the crisis. Without getting into the legal details, it’s been a very complex restructuring process here in Canada. Eventually, the former shareholders of Cirque du Soleil could no longer support the company and we had to find new investors. We had to convince people to invest in the relaunch of the company at a point where life after COVID wasn’t clear to anyone.  

I worked a lot with my predecessor Daniel to rethink the business plan. We found a different angle to the way we operated before, and it’s been a cornerstone of what we present to a new set of investors. At the end of 2020, we closed the deal and were able to get out of bankruptcy protection and think about the relaunch of the company, which only started in mid-2021. It’s been a rough period but looking back there’s a big sense of pride in what was accomplished by the team. 

As a CFO, you are very close to the company strategy.  

In any company, a good CFO would be close to the CEO, not only understanding the numbers but also executing the company strategy.  

In the summer of 2020, we had to rethink the strategy and I proposed many ideas to Daniel who was the CEO at the time. During our first virtual board meeting, Daniel said, “I think Stéphane could be on a succession plan for the CEO. I recommend that you give him the COO position. If he does a good job, then he can become the CEO of the company.” 

 

How did you remain optimistic throughout the crisis?

I was never in doubt that the company would survive the crisis.  

Cirque du Soleil is such a strong brand and will always be relevant even after the crisis.  

I’ve always believed that the company would have a future as long as we could find the right people to back us up. There was a small team of people that worked on relaunching the business at the time. I felt supported by a team of 20 staff who were still partly employed by the company in different functions. We motivated each other to get through the crisis. 

 

How did you implement a leaner management structure and what were its impacts?

It’s easier to come up with a lean company structure when you start from scratch than having to downsize a company. Many C-levels have gone through the process of downsizing a company and it’s very hard and emotionally difficult. I personally think it’s easier when you have to rebuild from scratch and hire to a certain level. What we had in mind was to build up all the functions to a certain level and then define the level of support each function needed in terms of budget and staffing. Rather than asking each department what they can do for the company and how many people they need, we had to look at the equation the other way around. “Here are 50 people. What can you offer to the rest of the business with 50 people?” 

 

What does Cirque du Soleil look like today?

The momentum is phenomenal right now. We were surprised that over 90% of our performers wanted to come back to Cirque du Soleil. Another surprise was that people missed us more than we thought. In the summer of 2021, we reopened our shows in Las Vegas to a great response. We’ve also broken all-time box office records in many markets within the first 18 months since relaunching the shows. It’s the perfect combination of performers wanting to come back and a supportive fan base that has created good momentum in the company currently. 

 

With this positive momentum, how do you manage the expectations of both new shareholders and employees?

That’s a great question, especially when things are going well or better than expected. We like to err on the side of transparency with our shareholders. We are transparent and open with the board and shareholders about where we are, as well as future opportunities and risks. This is to make sure that we are looking at the same set of data and aligned on our vision in the macro environment, our internal capabilities, and short-term objectives.   

 

What’s next for Cirque du Soleil’s blue ocean strategy?

This company mastered the art of the blue ocean strategy in the mid-80s and early 90s during what we internally call the golden age of Cirque du Soleil. For us, it’s important to be as ambitious as the founders were back then and create new products for our fan base. That’s the case for our physical shows and redefining the company in the digital world. It’s not entirely clear what the blue ocean strategy is for us right now but we’re walking in the right direction.  

 

*The interview answers have been edited for length and clarity.