With over 30 years of experience across telecommunications, performing arts, and sports & entertainment, Anne Belliveau is a visionary leader known for transforming organizations and elevating customer experiences. As former Chief Customer Experience Officer at Cirque du Soleil, she led digital innovation efforts that redefined how global audiences engage with the brand. Her leadership roles at Tennis Canada, Just For Laughs Group, and TELUS further highlight her ability to drive growth through creative, data-driven strategies.
Today, Anne partners with organizations to help them evolve how they connect with their audiences, blending creativity, technology, and insight to deliver meaningful impact.
Below, we have a Q&A with Anne, where she shares her perspective on leading through constant change, building high-performing teams, and what it takes to create lasting impact as a speaker.
Right now, change isn’t a one-time event; it’s constant. What do people still get wrong?
What most people still get wrong is that they approach change as something to manage, when in reality it is something to design for. They think in terms of initiatives, transformations, or phases, when the real challenge is learning how to operate in continuous motion.
In many organizations, what creates friction is not the pace of change itself, but the absence of structure underneath it. Priorities shift, teams react, energy gets diluted. What I have seen in the organizations I’ve led is that performance doesn’t come from reacting faster, it comes from building systems that hold while everything is moving. That means clear direction, disciplined prioritization, and operating models that align people, decisions, and execution.
AI is accelerating this dynamic. It doesn’t replace leadership, it exposes it. It amplifies clarity, but it also amplifies confusion. So the real question is no longer how to keep up with change, but how to build organizations that can evolve continuously without losing focus, coherence, and momentum.
How has your pursuit of excellence influenced your leadership?
For me, excellence has never come from one domain, it has been built across very different disciplines that have shaped how I think and lead. Music was the first one. Most of my studies were in piano, and performing taught me discipline, precision, and the ability to interpret structure while bringing something personal to it. You can’t fake preparation on stage, and you learn very quickly how to manage pressure in real time.
Writing came next. I published four novels that all became best sellers, which developed a completely different muscle: endurance of thought, creativity, and the ability to hold a long narrative over time. That has deeply influenced how I approach strategy today. A business is not a series of isolated decisions, it is a story that needs coherence, direction, and evolution.
And then sport added another layer. In 2019, I represented Canada at the World Championships in triathlon in my age group. Endurance training reinforces consistency, energy management, and the understanding that progress is built over time, not in isolated efforts.
When you put all of that together, it shaped a leadership style that is both structured and adaptive. I believe in clarity, in preparation, and in high standards, but also in creating space for creativity, responsiveness, and human energy. Leading is not about intensity in a moment, it is about sustaining direction, performance, and meaning over time..
As a speaker, what do you enjoy most and how do you prepare?
What I enjoy most is helping people see their reality differently. In complex environments, most leaders are not lacking information, they are lacking clarity. A great talk creates that shift. It gives people a framework that allows them to simplify complexity and act with more confidence.
My preparation always starts with the audience. I spend time understanding their context, their pressures, and what they are navigating day to day. From there, I build a clear structure, and I anchor it in real transformations I’ve led, whether at Cirque du Soleil, Tennis Canada, or Just for Laughs.
I am very intentional about making every idea actionable. The goal is not just inspiration. It is to give people a way to think differently and make better decisions the very next day.
What should event planners look for when choosing a speaker?
The first thing to look for is relevance. A great speaker understands the audience deeply and can speak directly to their reality, not in generalities, but in a way that feels specific and immediately applicable.
The second is substance. Audiences today are sophisticated. They can quickly tell the difference between ideas that come from real experience and those that are theoretical. The most impactful speakers bring perspectives shaped by having led, decided, and delivered in complex environments.
And finally, impact. A strong talk is not just engaging in the moment, it creates a shift that lasts beyond the event. It changes how people think, how they approach their role, and how they make decisions. That is what makes a speaker truly valuable.
For more information about Anne or to book an introduction call, please contact he***@***********ts.com
