Where are they now: Barney Kent, CEO of Touch Medical Media

Since its launch in 2018, the LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders programme has celebrated hundreds of exceptional individuals. In this series, we reconnect with some of our alumni to discover where their growth journeys have taken them, the impact of being part of the programme, and what their ambitions look like today. 

Barney Kent, along with co-founders Tim Sheldrick and Matt Goodwin, launched Touch Medical Media in 2012 with a mission to help healthcare professionals around the world improve patient outcomes. Offering high-quality, free-to-access videos, peer-reviewed articles and podcasts, the network has increased user numbers from two million to three million since featuring in The LDC Top 50 in 2023.

Since then, the business has weathered a global slowdown across the pharmaceutical industry. “2023 was the perfect storm,” explains Kent. “We pivoted quickly, tightened spend, listened to our audience and made significant improvements to our platform and product offerings at the same time.” But Barney remains optimistic: “Profit levels haven’t dipped, we’re seeing record traffic to our platforms, and our success is now at an all-time high. We’re as ambitious now as we ever have been.”

How has the business changed since you featured in The Top 50 in 2023?

Touch Medical Media has evolved into a truly global player in independent medical education (IME). Expanding into the US has been crucial – many of our clients and supporters are based there, especially in IME. Having a legal entity and team on the ground allows us to be seen as a truly global partner. At the same time, we opened a Netherlands office, not only as a response to Brexit but also to simplify compliance and billing for our clients and supporters, increasing our operational agility. In addition to our expansion into the US and Europe, through a strategic partnership we now have access to the largest physician networks in China and Japan.

What’s the biggest challenge you have faced in recent years?

Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – which allowed the US government to set the prices of drugs covered by Medicare – forcing the US pharmaceutical industry to rapidly downsize and restructure. That was a tough time: we lost some of the team and our forecast turnover fell. It felt like going 10 rounds in the boxing ring, but the company is now more resilient, more focused and much stronger than we’ve ever been.

Tell me about your proudest achievement

Coming through 2023 stronger, more focused, and more connected as a team has been our proudest achievement. We didn’t just survive, we reimagined how we operate, deliver, and lead. We proactively redesigned our websites, upgraded existing products, and introduced new ones, all while keeping profitability front of mind. These moves supported our impressive growth in 2024 and prepared us well for the future.

Most of all, I’m proud of our team’s adaptability and spirit. The resilience, creativity, and commitment they showed throughout the restructure was nothing short of remarkable. Finally, we’ve launched a Future Leaders programme to recognise the rising stars of the medical profession. While we continue to collaborate with many world-renowned faculty already in the spotlight, it’s been so rewarding to champion those earlier in their careers who are doing incredible work and making a real difference.