Cirque du Soleil’s CEO Steps Down, Former CEO is Back

By Scott Roeben, on April 01 2025
2 min read 4 comments
Las Vegas Las Vegas Shows

We got our hands on an internal Cirque du Soleil memo sharing a leadership change at the entertainment company with six shows in Las Vegas.

Stephane Lefebvre, Cirque’s CEO for the past three years, is stepping down. Daniel Lamarre is returning as Cirque’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

Lamarre previously served as Cirque’s President and CEO for two decades, from 2001 to 2021.

In contortionist circles, this move is known as “The Whimsical Pretzel of Bendy But Implausible Wonderment.”

In order for you to win a future bar bet, we will now list the six Cirque shows in Las Vegas: “O,” “Mystere,” “Ka,” “Michael Jackson One,” “Mad Apple” and Blue Man Group.

If you didn’t know the “Absinthe”-inspired “Mad Apple” and LSD-inspired Blue Man Group were Cirque shows, you are not alone.

Consider this a vision test.

French-Canadian sounds like English, but it’s sometimes hard to figure out what’s being communicated: “Following the most recent Board of Directors meeting, Stephane Lefebvre accepted a mandate to assess new international value creation initiatives. As a result, he will step down from his position as President and Chief Executive Officer.”

Pardon our French, but WTF does that even mean? Let’s just say “quit” and “fired” are often the same thing.

From the memo, “Over the past nine years, Stephane has played a pivotal role in Cirque’s journey, serving successively as Chief Financial Officer for six years, Chief Operating Officer for one year, and CEO for three years. His leadership was instrumental in the company’s successful relaunch following the pandemic. Under his guidance, we reintroduced over 30 shows and launched more than a dozen new creations, putting Cirque back on track after a complete shutdown. Alongside this impressive effort, he laid the groundwork for Cirque’s long-term growth by initiating our digital transformation and exploring new formats and monetization strategies for our brand. He also spearheaded the company’s global restructuring, introducing the One Cirque operating model to enhance collaboration and efficiency across the organization. He will remain involved through a transition period and will continue to serve on the Board of Directors for the next few months.”

In Feb. 2025, Cirque had a major shake-up in the form of a corporate restructuring, along with the requisite layoffs of about 100 people.

In another leaked internal memo, the aforementioned Stephane Lefebvre said “the context of our industry and our operating costs calls for a thorough revision of our operating model.”

Translation: We’re trying to become more profitable so we can sell the company before we have to file bankruptcy.

In the reorganization, Mike Newquist was named Chief Revenue Officer. He was out a month later.

Nothing to see here. Cirque is an endless source of drama.

Per today’s memo, “Nadine Collette, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, will also continue in his role as interim Chief Revenue Officer.”

What does all this mean for your Cirque-going experience? Nothing, really.

Las Vegas production shows are going through a challenging time at the moment, with attractions like Sphere luring many patrons away from traditional shows.

“Ka” is probably the worst performer in the Cirque family, and as such you should probably see it while you still can. We’ve heard its days are numbered and could be replaced by a show called “Abba Voyage,” a “virtual concert residency.”

Cirque du Soleil is woven into the fabric of Las Vegas and we hope the company can get its acts together.