Franco Dragone created the first Cirque du Soleil shows to play Las Vegas. He was the architect of Celine Dion’s ground-breaking production show, which would set the stage for superstar resident headliners on the Strip.

And he wasn’t finished.

“We always have several projects on the go,” Dragone CEO Francois Girard said. “This was a devastating surprise to all of us We will look to the future with the strength of the past, on the path paved by an extraordinary man, the legend we have lost.”

Dragone died of a heart attack while conducting business in Cairo, Egypt, on Friday. He was 69.