Michael Boumendil, President & Chief Creative Officer
Founder of Sixième Son, Michael Boumendil is the world’s leading authority on sonic branding. He was knighted by the French government in 2023 in recognition of his musical work for brands around the world.
In 1995 he founded Sixième Son and invented a discipline: sonic branding, also known as as audio branding. Three decades later, more than 500 brands worldwide have entrusted him and Sixieme Son with their sound: Maybelline New York, Paris Aéroport, AXA, Castorama, Cathay Pacific, Coca-Cola, FDJ, Fnac, Michelin, Peugeot, Roland-Garros, Royal Air Maroc, Sanofi or TD Bank. He composed the iconic sound of SNCF, the French national railway, that has turned into a second anthem for France. Every day, more than 2.2 billion people hear at least one of his creations, making him one of the most widely heard composers in the world.
A life in Music
Born on the outskirts of Paris, Boumendil was writing songs by age 11 and playing in his first rock band at 13. At 19 he had a new idea: brands could communicate their identity through music, not just using music to please anaudience. After graduating from the prestigious EDHEC Business School in 1994, he brought his two passions together, music and brand strategy, and founded Sixième Son, the first agency in the world dedicated to sonic branding
A New Language for Brands
His vision was to turn a brand’s expertise, values and positioning into a unique, recognizable sound that captures attention, sets the brand apart and builds lasting memory. This approach has since become a global standard, and Sixième Son remains the leading agency in audio branding and musical design.
A Global Pioneer
In 2016 In 2017, Boumendil moved to New York to lead Sixième Son’s expansion across North America, adding vocal identity to his expertise in sonic identity. Under his leadership, the agency now has offices in Paris, New York, Canada, Spain and Singapore.
He is a sought-after speaker at international conferences, where he champions sound as a powerful, meaningful and universal language for brands. He introduced the concept of “emotional decency,” the principle that brands should never lieamplify anxiety or exploit vulnerability, especially in difficult times. His research has also produced a proven method for measuring how well a sonic identity performs.
International Growth
Under his leadership, Sixième Son has expanded internationally with offices in Canada, Spain, and Singapore. Boumendil is a regular speaker at global conferences, advocating for sound as a powerful, meaningful, and effective universal language for brands. Boumendil’s extensive research has led to the development of a proven methodology for measuring the performance of a brand’s sonic identity. In 2020, he introduced the concept of “emotional decency,” a principle emphasizing that brands should speak the truth and try to be loved for who they really are.
Author and Thought Leader
Boumendil wrote one of the very first book on the discipline, Musical Design and Brand Strategy (Eyrolles, 2017), and contributed to Audio Branding: Using Sound to Build Your Brand (Kogan Page, 2017) and Global Brand Management by Laurence Minsky and Ilan Geva (Kogan Page, 2019). His most recent book, Le siècle du son, was published in June 2023.
The CEOs’ Musician
Over the years, Michael Boumendil has earned an unusual nickname: “the CEOs’ musician.” He is that rare composer who can talk sound, music and business in the same breath, and in the boardroom. Since Sixième Son began, more and more chief executives have sought him out, often surprised to find that the conversation is less about taste than about strategy. That is the heart of Boumendil’s approach: successful sonic branding is not music you happen to like. It is a sound strategy and content that enriches the brand and helps the business be more successful.
