Henna Dhawan is a senior strategic leader in public affairs and healthcare policy advocacy, currently serving as Head of Country Public Affairs at Novartis India, where she leads the company’s engagement with government stakeholders, policymakers, industry associations, and key external partners to shape favorable public health and regulatory environments that advance patient access to innovative medicines and sustainable care solutions. In this role, she plays a pivotal role in aligning Novartis India’s external affairs agenda with broader health system priorities—including policy advocacy, multi-stakeholder partnerships, and national health policy discourse.

With over 18 years of experience in public policy, healthcare advocacy, and access strategy, Henna brings a deep understanding of the intersection between government health priorities and private sector contributions to patient-centric outcomes. Prior to her current role at Novartis, she served as Head – Access Policy at Pfizer India, where she led efforts to strengthen policy frameworks and improve access landscapes for critical therapies. Before her industry leadership roles, she served the National Health Authority (NHA) as Officer on Special Duty and Deputy General Manager, contributing to policy design and implementation of health assurance programs, including Ayushman Bharat. She has also worked in international development with GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), supporting health system strengthening initiatives across India.

Henna holds a PGDM from Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management and a bachelor’s degree from Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, underpinning her strategic outlook with strong academic foundations. In her current leadership at Novartis, she continues to advocate for effective health policy, strong public-private collaboration and access-oriented solutions that improve health outcomes at scale