Cirque du Soleil’s director of risk management receives top honours

Michel Rodrigue, Cirque du Soleil’s director of risk management and insurance, has received this year’s Donald M. Stuart award, Canada’s highest honour for risk management.

Based in Montreal, Cirque du Soleil is an entertainment company that produces spectacular theatrical shows famous for their high-risk daredevil and aerial acrobatics. The shows have been seen by more than 100 million spectators in over 300 cities around the world.

High trapeze acrobats Louis David Simoneau and Rosalie Ducharme perform Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at the Cirque du Soleil “Totem” show. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

“You can probably imagine that no two days at Cirque du Soleil are the same,” Rodrigue said after the award recipient was announced Monday at the RIMS Canada Conference in St. John’s, N.L. “Captivating audiences around the world, employing hundreds and partnering with thousands of vendors presents a wide-range of challenges, but there are also countless opportunities to be creative, to contribute to the success of new ventures and have a lot of fun. I am humbled to receive this prestigious award and thank everyone who has supported me through my risk management journey.”

Rodrigue’s work encompasses identifying and assessing all of Cirque du Soleil’s worldwide operational risks. His role includes engaging both internal and external partners, supporting strategic planning and delivering efficient contractual, claims and insurance processes that align with the corporation’s business core and projects.

RIMS Ontario Chapter (ORIMS) presented the award to Rodrigue. “Michel has successfully created a corporate culture at Cirque du Soleil that realizes risk management’s true value and its ability to support innovation,” said ORIMS president Valerie Fox, corporate EHS manager at NPL Canada, a division of Centuri Construction Group, Inc. “His career is marked with many outstanding achievements and includes his commitment to giving back to Canada’s risk management community. We proudly present him with this honour and thank him for all that he has done to support RIMS.”

Rodrigue has been a member of RIMS and QRIMA (RIMS Quebec Chapter) since 2000. He joined QRIMA’s board of directors in 2000 and held various board positions including serving as its president from 2002-04. He also served on RIMS Canada Council (RCC) from 2005-08.