40 Under 40 2020: Edge 'Eggsy' Montero, Ideas X Machina

Edge 'Eggsy' Montero

Managing director
IdeasXMachina (Hakuhodo)
Philippines

There are a lot of names used to describe Edge Montero. He’s known to friends and colleagues by his nickname, Eggsy. But at Hakuhodo-owned agency IdeasXMachina (IXM) he’s also been called a future group business leader by his boss and a “client charmer” by his colleagues. It’s not just hyperbole either—evident by the numbers of heavyweight clients who all vouch for him by another name—a true “partner”.

And like many in the ad business, Eggsy paid his dues. Montero started out as a promo manager for JWT at age 19, conceptualising sales promotion projects for big brands like Ford, Shell, Kraft and San Miguel. From there, he jumped to handling blue-chip accounts for TBWA, Publicis and Saatchis for more than a decade before becoming business development director at Dentsu, adept at handling big Japanese clients like Toyota and Uniqlo, turning his accounts into agency top billers. Then, after a quick stint client-side at Solaire Resort & Casino he moved to IXM, which he helped propel to new heights.

Montero’s account leadership and business wins at IXM over the past two years have pulled in millions of dollars in revenue, earning him a spot on Hakuhodo’s executive committee and board in the Philippines. He has championed and grown Toyota Motor Philippines, Hakuhodo’s lead client, and as managing director at IXM has the business on pace to hit its pre-Covid 2020 targets while hiring instead of firing employees.  

Enthusiastic about knowledge-sharing, Montero took an accounts department of mostly fresh graduates and trained them, resulting in four members getting promotions and invitations to the company’s management committee. That sense of responsibility extends outside the office as well, where he helps out with his family’s advocacy, Montero Medical Missions, to bring medical expertise from overseas to impoverished areas in the Philippines.