As the President of Creative Content for Cirque du Soleil, Lyn was responsible for managing, guiding and channeling the incredible creative force of the company's designers, performers, artisans, and technicians into a product that was both breathtakingly original as well as commercially successful. Her range of experience in this regard touches on virtually all aspects of management. In addition to the specific areas of creativity and innovation, she can speak with authority on such issues as finding and developing talent and fostering an open and dynamic corporate culture. She draws on her Cirque du Soleil experience to provide valuable ideas and lessons for virtually any audience.

Lyn has distilled her experience at the company into a wonderful new book, The Spark: Igniting the Creative Fire That Lives Within Us All. The book is an inspiring tale that draws on behind-the-scenes stories from the most creative people in entertainment, and is an unparalleled guide on how to make creativity a part of everything you do. It was published to great acclaim in 2006.

Beginning as an acrobatic scouting coordinator and creation studio director, Lyn's responsibilities evolved as Cirque do Soleil grew in scope. In 2000 she was named President and COO of Cirque du Soleil's Creative Content Division, a position she held until 2005. In that period the hit shows "Varekai" (2002), "Zumanity" (2003) and "KÀ" (2004) were created under her guidance. Her understanding of the demands and the multiple facets of creating a show, as well as her managerial talents, brought her to this position. She has been the guiding force behind activities related to creation, production and artistic and technical follow-up for all Cirque du Soleil shows and other creative ventures. Her command of five languages—English, French, German, Russian and Spanish—helped her open direct lines of communication with Cirque du Soleil's artists and partners all over the world.

Still deeply concerned by the development of young athletes and performers, She is presently working as an ambassador and Executive Producer for Special Projects for Cirque du Soleil; in this new capacity her first mandate was to create and produce the opening ceremonies of the 2005 FINA World Aquatics Championship in Montreal. She has also lent her creative expertise to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee as a member of its creative team and associate producer of an eight-minute segment presented during the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Torino Olympic Games.

In this talk Lyn Heward goes behind the scenes of the world famous Cirque du Soleil to explore the nature of creativity and innovation. She provides listeners with both practical suggestions, as well as the inspiration to find and develop the creative spark that lives within us all. Making brilliant use of images and video from Cirque du Soleil's groundbreaking shows, she leads her listeners through a succession of stories, anecdotes, and examples that are both instructional and motivational. Touching on a wide range of issues relevant to every organization—from risk-taking, to leadership, teamwork, and product development—this presentation is perfect for any group that faces the competitive pressure to be more creative and innovative. Whether your audience is one already immersed in the creative world, or one that is taking its first tentative steps along that path, Lyn is an outstanding choice to help them find the creative spark and zeal for innovation that can mean the difference between success or failure in today's business world.

In this presentation, Lyn Heward explores Cirque du Soleil’s innovative approach to human resources, an approach that has made it not just a world leader in the entertainment field, but also a showcase for human resources management at its finest and most innovative. Touching on the most important issues in HR today—recruitment, talent management, training, team building, and leadership development—Heward shows corporations how to unleash the creative power that lives within every one of their employees, and how to champion and foster a culture of personal growth and job satisfaction. Taking audiences on a privileged tour behind the scenes at Cirque du Soleil, Heward shows them the HR best practices that can easily be applied to their organization.

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