17 Sep & 15 Oct | CHICC Office Hours: The Global Growth Advantage

About these Office Hours

For digital and connected health companies, a strong product alone is rarely enough to unlock sustainable growth. Policy, regulation, government priorities and stakeholder relationships can significantly impact your path to market, access to partnerships, funding opportunities and international expansion – yet many founders are unsure where to start, who to engage or how to make strategic conversations count.

Building relationships early with political and regulatory decision-makers can help your company anticipate change, strengthen its value proposition and create more credible, strategic pathways for long-term growth. For those with global ambitions, the right relationships can open doors to international partnerships, trusted collaborations and support networks, helping to reduce risk and turn growth ambitions into commercial milestones.

Rethink your commercial approach to government relations and public policy

Sign-up today for an Office Hours session with Justin Howden, Principal of Corporate Affairs Advisory. Designed for Australian innovators at any stage of growth, these sessions offer practical guidance for companies navigating the intersection of commercial strategy, government relations, regulation and global pathways.

Whether you are actively preparing to engage or wondering when and how to start, Justin will help you identify the relationships, messages and actions you need to support your next stage of growth.

During your meeting, you can dive into questions such as:

• Why do government relations and public policy matter for my startup or scaleup company?  
• When, where and how do I begin?  
• What can I expect to achieve? Will the time and conversation really be worth it?  
• How do I communicate my value proposition clearly? (elevator pitch mandatories)
• How do I plan effectively around local policy and political cycles?  
• Why do I need to build relationships before I actually need them?  
• Why is it important for me to treat public policy as a growth lever?  
• How do I find the right corporate or government partners for scale?  
• How can I best position my company for collaboration and funding opportunities?  

Meet your expert, Justin Howden

Justin Howden is Principal at Corporate Affairs Advisory assisting CEOs with strategic action plans with a pragmatic commercial approach.

He has had C Suite roles leading Go-to-Market, Scientific Development, International, Government & Regulatory and Marketing teams at Swisse Wellness (Health), Webvertiser (Technology), Fonterra, Meadow Lea Foods and Kraft Foods (Food) and most recently Bod Science (Medical Cannabis) and HealthOne (Health Tech).

Justin has negotiated commercial programs with organisations such as CSIRO, La Trobe and Swinburne Universities, Downtown Duty Free, Coles, Woolworths, AliBaba (CH), JD.com (CH), VIP.com (CH), NTUC (Sing) and Dairy Farm (HK).

He was co-founding Director of Swinburne Ventures – the University's vehicle for spinning off research and innovation discoveries and has had several long-term Board roles including as Chair of ‘Food and Drink Victoria’, President of the Royal Exchange of Sydney and is now a Corporate Councillor in the ‘European Australia Business Council’ after a decade as a Director.

He has also been National President of the Australia Malaysia Business Council and the Australia Philippines Business Council.