Philippe Kahn-Salmon, CEO & General Manager
Born into a family where classical music played a very important role, he studied musical theory, piano and voice through private lessons and at the conservatory. A passion for live music performance and recordings provided him an extensive knowledge of the repertoire and artists.
As an avid theatergoer in his student days of both concerts and opera, in France as well as abroad, he had the opportunity to hear some of the great artists of the time, as well as new artists embarking on an important career. He attended various master classes and heard new talents.
Philippe organized chamber music concerts and became assistant at the Chorégies d'Orange. In the early 1980s, he worked as freelance journalist for Radio Monte Carlo and recorded interviews for the arts and culture desk. He pursued his interest in journalism and wrote articles for such classical music reviews as Opera International, L'Avant-Scène Opéra...
His professional career took an important turn when he joined the record company EMI Virgin Classics as Marketing Manager. In this capacity, he contributed to the commercial development and to improve the brand image as well as the promotional activities of the label's house artists. As a member of the artistic committee, he took part in the selection of new recordings and their casts, which proved un invaluable experience to evaluate and to organize an artistic project. This helped him to understand the needs of artists and convinced him to launch his career in the promotion of singers and musicians.
After having held various positions as Marketing Director (American Express, Paco Rabanne) and Associate Director of strategic consulting firms (GMCA, Gartner), he fulfilled a life-long project in early 2005 by founding International Music Talents (IMT).
