FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cityneon appoints Welby Altidor, former Cirque du Soleil Creative Director, as Group Chief Creative Officer

Welby Altidor, a former Creative Director at Cirque du Soleil, is poised to work his inventive prowess for Cityneon Holdings Limited by joining the Singapore-listed company as Group Chief Creative Officer.

Cityneon Holdings Limited is an agency that transforms customer and brand experiences, made up of five business divisions – Interior Architecture, Experiential Environments, Events, Exhibitions and IP Rights. Its company Victory Hill Exhibitions is best known for creating the highly acclaimed Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N and Transformers Awakening exhibitions. 

Cityneon chose to hire Altidor based on his creative acumen, a skill honed during his 17 year career with Cirque du Soleil. Welby began his career as a talent scout for Cirque du Soleil, becoming the youngest Casting Director in the company’s history, working on over 15 productions. Altidor left his creative stamp on Cirque du Soleil during his time there as Executive Creative Director, and shows that he has helped create include LUZIA and Michael Jackson ONE, an award-winning hit show that is in its fourth year of residence at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas (MGM). Altidor has also partnered with a roster of luminary celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Alicia Keys and Russell Simmons. As one of the founders of C:LAB, the creative laboratory of The Cirque du Soleil Group, Altidor has left his creative mark on the acclaimed theatre company. Due to his success with Cirque du Soleil, Altidor is a sought-after speaker, and clients include Fortune 100 companies like Nike, Sephora and SAP. 

Cityneon has hired Altidor with the aim of using his skills to refresh previous creative projects, and plan and execute new projects. As an expert creator of live experiences, Altidor’s appointment is in line with Cityneon’s vision of creating exhibitions that transcend tradition and wow audiences.

“Cityneon hopes to benefit from Altidor’s vast experience with creating extraordinary live experiences, recruiting outstanding talents to execute stunning artistic creations, to help us excel and exceed our current product offerings,” says Ron Tan, Group CEO of Cityneon.

Altidor is excited to join the Cityneon team. “Cityneon is poised to launch the next wave of memorable, engaging and ground-breaking entertainment experiences for audiences all over the world. It’s an honour to join Ron Tan and the team to create with impact!” says Altidor.

Tan also notes that Altidor’s appointment will help with Cityneon’s current and future business strategy. The company will seek growth within its movie blockbusters IPs (such as Avengers and Transformers), which leverages on its existing business model to deliver recurring profits in the coming years. Growth will also come from Cityneon’s existing projects, such as theme parks design and build, and pavilions for World Expos design and build. Cityneon is currently standing on the shoulders of giants like the Avengers and Transfomers IPs, but in the future it hopes to look into research and development (R&D) of self-owned IPs, which it will run. This will help it create exponential growth in the medium term.

Altidor will be based in Las Vegas, where Cityneon will set up another creative suite, with a 20,000 square foot office with Altidor’s own creative team. Thus Cityneon will have dual creative offices, one in Los Angeles alongside the Las Vegas one.

According to Tan, Altidor’s appointment will continue to develop Cityneon’s story-telling culture – “working with international studios like Disney, Marvel and Hasbro to deliver unique experiences to the world.”