THE BALLOON MAN

Yes, You’re Smart, but Can You Make Money?

. This interview with Kenneth Feld, chairman and C.E.O. of Feld Entertainment, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant. Feld Entertainment’s operations include Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus and Disney on Ice.
Kenneth Feld is chairman and C.E.O. of Feld Entertainment, which produces Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Disney on Ice and other shows. He asks potential hires how their ideas have turned into profit at their companies.
Q. How did you get started in your family’s business?
A. In the summers I always worked with my father, and I think my motivation for getting in the business was to work with my dad, because we had an extraordinary relationship. I was fortunate that he was in a business that I loved and had a passion for.
He acquired Ringling Brothers in November 1967. I was in college, so my summer jobs for the summer of ’68 and the summer of ’69 were going all over the world, primarily Eastern Europe, hiring circus talent.
That was an extraordinary education because, at the time, there were still communist countries, and I spent most of three months in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Poland, East Germany. I would deal with the ministries in those countries because the circus was sort of their art form for the masses. So that was my first exposure to something pretty exotic and unusual.
READ MORE AT:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/business/24corner.html?src=busln