After graduating from E.S.C.P. and Paris-IX-Dauphine, Mathilde Michel trained at the Conservatoire (ballet, piano, organ, singing) and worked in opera houses (Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra de Paris), before moving to Radio France's finance department.
After seven years with Bossard-Gemini Consulting in media strategy (TV, web, cinema), she joined France 2 as head of grid costs and institutional relations, then France Télévisions as General Secretary for Programs, where she set up, among other things, the Culturebox live digital concert and show offering, in 2013.
In 2018, she joined the Philharmonie de Paris to work with over a hundred artists, designers and scientists to design the Philharmonie des enfants, which she directed in parallel with the artistic programming for young audiences, before taking over as head of ARTE France's Arts and Entertainment unit in July 2023.