The secrets to keeping Cirque du Soleil at the top. With over 3,000 full-time employees, tours on all seven continents, and a circus full of over 400 youngsters from over 16 countries, President of Cirque du Soleil DANIEL LAMARRE has his work cut out for him. How does he continually manage to drive creativity

 As President and Chief Executive Officer of Cirque du Soleil, DANIEL LAMARRE is in charge of strategies both at the business development and operations level. He also sees to the organization’s financial sustainability, and the perpetuation of its culture and values.

Before joining Guy Laliberté’s team in January 2001, he served as president and CEO of TVA Group, Quebec’s largest private television broadcaster, for nearly four years. In addition to his day-to-day management duties, he was also responsible for strategic planning and business development. While sitting on the TVA Group board of directors, he also served on the boards of McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, and helped administer the Montreal Heart Institute Research Fund.

From 1984 to 1997, DANIEL LAMARRE worked with National Public Relations, first as executive vice-president and senior partner, then as president starting in 1995. He became president and CEO of Burson-Marsteller in 1981, and opened a first Montreal branch for this, the world’s largest PR firm. In 1977, he served as public relations director for the cable operator Cogeco. Before that, he was communications director for the Fédération des Caisses Populaires du Centre du Québec.

Before taking up his management duties in the world of communications, he worked as a journalist for over 10 years. He started out with the Trois-Rivières daily Le Nouvelliste, then moved on to Radio-Canada in Ottawa. He holds a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Ottawa.