With a career built on biomedical foundations, Matt Goodwin is striving to become a leading figure in the world of medical education. As co-founder of Touch Medical Media and Touch Independent Medical Education (touchIME), he has leveraged his scientific expertise and innovative vision to create a business that provides impactful educational programs for healthcare professionals (HCPs) globally. He was recently honoured at the Alliance 2025 Annual Conference in Orlando, FL, USA with the prestigious ‘CPD 40 Under 40’ Award; “an esteemed award recognising the next generation who have made outstanding contributions in our industry”, organized by the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions. Here, Matt discusses his journey, the challenges of growing a business and his aspirations for the future of medical education.
Can you tell us about how your career in medical education evolved?
My medical education career, I think, has been pretty unique as I’ve only ever worked for Touch. Having initially wanted to be a doctor, I didn’t get the grades during a particularly competitive year so I chose to study biomedicine, thinking I might transfer to medicine later. During that time, I realized medicine wasn’t the right path for me, but I gained a broad, medically-focused undergraduate degree that set the stage.
The typical biomed graduate routes were forensic medicine, lab work, postgraduate medicine or medical writing. I needed something more interactive and people-focused — medical writing or forensics didn’t suit me, and I didn’t have the knack for lab work. I wanted a role that allowed me to communicate and connect with others, which led me to Touch.
I landed a role after sharing my thesis: a meta-analysis of early research into the role microRNA might play in animal health and its potential for use as a treatment. The fully referenced, well-structured assessment aligned with the content the Touch journals were publishing. It was a great fit for me, so I started in a sales role for the journals team. Over four years and a number of sales awards later, including the top business developer, I worked my way up to be running one of the sales teams under the now CEO of Touch Group, Barney Kent.
A key turning point came when I had the opportunity to participate in a management buyout of Touch with Barney and another partner, Tim Sheldrick (now director of Touch Medical Communications). Transitioning from employee to co-owner was a huge step at age 25. To avoid external investment and losing the ethos of Touch, we scaled the business down to focus on sustainability and growth in our core-strength therapy areas, and reinvested all the profits to hire great staff, move from print to fully digital, and develop all other areas of the business.
Over time, we evolved as a digital publisher and expanded into independent medical education (IME), where I now solely focus. Strong relationships with faculty, editorial board members and readers influenced this decision and made the evolution a natural progression.
Throughout my career, my focus has remained on business development and now, education development — building on the foundation I established in those early sales years. I’ve never worked anywhere else and I’ve never felt the need to, because I love what we do. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the impact we have in medical education and to work with such talented people. It’s a varied and fulfilling career, even if it’s been with just one company.
What’s kept us at the forefront of the industry is our dedication to reinvesting in the business — not treating it as a lifestyle venture, or answering to investors that just care about profits, but focusing on growth, innovation and supporting our team. That commitment has driven everything we’ve achieved and it’s a journey I’m massively proud of.
Matt Goodwin receiving the ‘CPD 40 Under 40’ Award at the Alliance 2025 Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA, USA.
Growing a business at a young age comes with unique challenges. What were some of the biggest obstacles you faced, and how did you overcome them?
Yes, growing a business at a young age came with significant challenges, but also rewarding learning experiences.
One of the biggest hurdles was starting the company from scratch without external investment—relying solely on personal savings to purchase the assets. At just 25 years old, I was navigating business ownership with minimal experience, alongside two partners who were also new to this. It was a steep learning curve, requiring long hours, learning quickly from mistakes, and with a willingness to adapt and try new things.
A key to overcoming these challenges was recognizing our limitations and bringing in people more skilled and knowledgeable than ourselves. From the start, we prioritized hiring exceptional talent and building a strong team culture. This meant trusting others to take ownership of aspects of the business, which was difficult initially when I’d had a hand in almost everything we did and I’m a perfectionist. However, this allowed the business to really grow and thrive.
Another pivotal decision was embracing remote work early on, long before the pandemic. This enabled us to recruit top talent globally — from across the UK to South Africa, the USA and beyond — without being restricted to a London-based office. By eliminating commutes and promoting flexibility, we attracted experienced professionals who were ready to contribute at a high level.
Finally, being early adopters of new technology helped us streamline operations and improve our efficiency. Whether it was moving from print to online, Skype to Zoom or leveraging AI [artificial intelligence] today, we’ve continuously sought tools to support and optimize how we work. These strategies — investing in people, fostering trust and staying ahead of technological trends — have been instrumental in overcoming obstacles and driving the success of the business. Our staff retention rate over 95% speaks for itself. People want to work for us.
What do you enjoy most about working in medical education?
It may sound cliché, but what I enjoy most about working in medical education is knowing the significant impact we’re making on healthcare providers and, ultimately, their patients. No matter the financial success of a project or how pleased a supporter might be, the real reward is seeing the measurable outcomes of our work.
Every year, we analyze data from our programs, such as the number of HCPs reached and how their knowledge, competence and confidence have improved. Our reports often show statistically significant improvements of 30% or more in HCP knowledge and competence — and we’re continuously enhancing our methods with brand new tools like the new touchLPI (Learner to Patient Impact) framework. This helps us assess the real-time and real-world impact of our education on clinicians and their patients more closely, combining quantitative and qualitative insights to really understand what we’ve achieved with the program.
We take a thoughtful approach to everything we do — from designing engaging educational activities to leveraging multiple channels and platforms for global reach. On average, our programs reach clinicians in 27 countries, far beyond Europe or the USA, addressing unmet needs worldwide. Knowing that we’re upskilling thousands of HCPs in diverse therapy areas and improving patient outcomes is incredibly meaningful. These patients may be people you or I personally know.
Seeing the positive outcomes and knowing we’ve contributed to improving disease management and quality of life is really what drives us. At company get-togethers, when we reflect on our successes, it’s this impact that puts the biggest smiles on our faces and reminds us why we do what we do.
What excites you most about the future of medical education?
What excites me most is the rapid integration of new technologies to make education more accessible, personalized and impactful. While in-person meetings and networking will always have their place, the increasing time pressures on HCPs mean we must continue innovating with on-demand, easily digestible formats.
The adoption of genAI [generative AI] is particularly exciting. It allows us to tailor education to the specific needs of learners, ensuring doctors receive the most relevant and engaging content at the time they need it. We not only save time, but also enhance learning efficiency.
We’ve also explored other innovative advanced technologies like holograms, augmented reality and virtual environments. These tools can bring patient cases to life, creating realistic, interactive scenarios for clinicians to not only practice diagnosis and treatment decisions, but also soft skills like empathy and communication. This is especially valuable as we strive to bridge the gap between what HCPs think is most important versus what the patient thinks is most important. It’s often not the same thing.
Looking further ahead, wearable technology, self-diagnosis with genAI, and the changing role of HCPs in a technology-driven world present fascinating opportunities and challenges. And, while the possibilities are vast, maintaining compliance and safeguarding patient data will be critical as we navigate this evolving landscape.
The future of medical education is dynamic and fast-paced, and I’m excited to be part of an industry that’s constantly innovating to improve patient care globally.
How has this recognition with the CPD 40 Under 40 award impacted you, and what does it mean for your future endeavours?
Receiving this recognition has been incredibly rewarding and humbling, especially to be honored alongside such remarkable peers who are doing great things in the field. For me, this award is a testament not just to my efforts but to the success of Touch as a whole. It highlights the incredible progress we’ve made in the CE [continuing education]/CPD space in just seven years.
While it won’t change my day-to-day, it has inspired me to become more involved in organizations like the Alliance. Attending my first Alliance meeting was great, particularly seeing the strong focus on mentorship and supporting the next generation. I’m motivated to pursue further qualifications, like the CHCP (Certified Healthcare CPD Professional credential), and continue to contribute to fostering growth within the industry.
Looking ahead, I’m driven to continue growing the business. We’re active in 10 therapy areas, but there are opportunities to expand both into new ones and further establish our presence in the ones we already cover. Our vision has always been to become the number one ‘go-to’ resource for HCPs seeking therapeutic updates and education. I think we’re on track and the feedback from learners supports this.
One key focus for the future is expanding our presence in the USA, which has been exciting following the opening of our USA office last year. By continuing to grow our reach and raise our profile, we aim to solidify our position as the trusted resource for HCPs worldwide — where securing funding for our innovative proposals becomes not just easier, but inevitable!
This recognition not only validates our journey so far, but also fuels my ambition to keep building, innovating and driving meaningful impact for HCPs and their patients.
Interested in discovering more about what we do? Reach out to learn about our educational activities, regular content and partnerships with medical societies.
