Cirque du Soleil was founded in 1984 in Montreal by Guy Laliberte and has grown from 73 employees to over 2100 employees. It combines circus acts like clowns, acrobats and gymnasts with music and dance to create theatrical performances without using animals. Cirque du Soleil has diversified and expanded globally, and also opened retail stores. It prioritizes keeping employees happy through good training, pay increases, and amenities to create a close-knit culture and loyal workforce.

1. PRODUCCIONES RAKIMCHILE – CANADA [email_address] Sirope de Savia de Arce la miel de la Vida

2. Formed in 1984 : Le Club des Talons Hauts (The High-Heels Club) Guy Laliberte : President and CEO Grown from 73 employees in 1984 to 2100 employees in 2001 Laliberte in charge of creative productions. Daniel Gautier in charge of partnerships and financing. Headquartered at Montreal Founders philosophy: “I will never go public”

3. Opera and ballet with circus format, without the star performer and animals Street performers, clowns, acrobats & gymnasts combine to present feats, create theatre and dance dramas Music in a Latin-sounding language – designed to transcend cultural boundaries Globalized to the core Staffing Content Audience 1987 - Los Angeles Festival 1990 – Europe 1992 – Asia Diversified its commercial activities 1998 – Opened its first store in Florida 1999 – “Cirque du Soleil Images” released its first feature film and its first television special 2000 – Created an IMAX large-format film production, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics

4. Oberacker, the conductor (-) Came from Broadway Previous exposure – highly creative costuming, lighting and dance Very low starting salary 12 hours of rehearsal every week without remuneration Loved the central role in the performance every night Gonzalo Munoz, the clown (+) 300% pay raise over his previous work Valued the noneconomic benefits, such as Language Training “ Cirque works hard to keep artists happy” : hired a master clown in New York to train Trained in different places and techniques

5. Company knew that if their employees are not happy, they cannot perform. Best possible training made available to them Single artists never recruited. Food given extra attention – to give the feeling of home. Headquarters had all the latest facilities for the employees Shuttle Services Customers was driving the business worldwide “ When a customer enters the big top, he will have an experience he will never forget” Ticket prices always priced appropriately Newer markets were identified, and the shows staged in front of them Due to demand there are permanent as well as yearly shows all year around

6. Positives “ Working for Cirque is like working for the Red Sox in Boston or Disney World in Orlando” Shuttle service from house to work Amazing kitchen – lavish with food served on tour Best possible working conditions for everybody Negatives Historically, low on the pay scale compared with other companies Now it has adjusted to the mean

7. Strengths Employees wanted to work with them Proactive top management Generated ‘WOW’ feeling for the customers Opportunities The whole world was their market Untapped talent potential Potential to offer different formats Weaknesses Could not effectively replicate the offering across borders Over dependence on one man (Guy Laliberte) Lower than usual pay scales Threats Employee Turnover a perennial problem Constant need for reinvention Possibility of replication of offering by competitors

8. Eliminated Star Performers or “ Key Players” Animals from a circus Traditional employee management policies Created Theme based entertainment A global fan following Feeling of Thrill and Excitement Unique and distinct venues Close knit culture amongst employees

10. Cirque du Soleil an organization that has turned the old into new has adhered to the founders vision all along keeps its employees topmost priority successfully manages growth and innovation creates and captures new demand manages its extraordinarily diverse workforce creates “loyal employees” through “job satisfaction” multiple themed touring and fixed shows all over Is amongst Canada’s most valuable companies