EDWARD V. DIWA,
Director, E-business, Digital Media Exchange

Education:
Marketing and Political Science,
De La Salle University

What is your main concern right now?

The first order of the day is to electronify distribution of our content. Until recently, the only way for our players to access our games is to buy prepaid cards. Moreover, when they buy at the retail outlets and i-Cafes, they find out that the card they want is out of stock! What complicates this system further, is that retail outlets have a choice of dozens of cards from telcos, ISP, gaming with four to five different denominations to choose from!

Three months ago, we started changing that by partnering with service providers who are the major distributors of all pre-paid offerings in the country. This eliminated unnecessary cost on iinventory and logistics and more importantly, it avoided the out of stock scenario described earlier.

That’s the first order of the day. It gets rid of the cost of inventory and logistics of the distributor and the retailer.

In the past, retailers would have to have a crystal ball to know which denominations would sell faster, and in most cases, these wouldn’t pan out. In electronifying the distribution, they’d have all the denominations of all our games at all times. They’d always have the right denomination that our customers need.

What are the challenges facing your industry right now?

The company is in the digital entertainment business like online gaming. Forty percent of my task is converting the distribution of this industry into electronic. But my responsibilities are much bigger in scope. It’s igniting e-commerce in the Philippines.

The Philippines is still a relatively young market. In the more developed countries, everybody, and not just young kids, is into online gaming. We are rapidly reaching that stage where online gaming will be a form of entertainment for everybody. We see the proliferation of I-cafes and the cost reduction of broadband internet. Both the service providers and the equipment manufacturers are realizing that the Philippine market is becoming more and more sophisticated, that’s why they are doing everything to address that. We have to go past the notion that online gaming is just for kids.

The challenge is to take this industry into the next level where digital gaming is for everybody.

How do you address this challenge?

We are taking initiatives that will shatter the notion [that gaming is just for kids]. We are focusing on bringing content that appeals to all demographics, especially females who are currently a small minority in online gaming.

Please tell us about your career path.

After graduation, I became a marketing officer in a Multinational IT Company where sales and marketing were integrated. I moved to a Telco company where I was promoted Manager of the business unit. After four years, I met this venture capitalist who hired me as VP for Sales and Marketing to establish a company called Inter-Tech Providers Inc; we worked with telcos and partnered with operators in the US enabling us to offer telco-like services to the corporate segment.

This put me in the map, so to speak. All the things that I learned from school and the corporate world are now on my shoulders. It was just the Board and myself making decisions.

After that, I became Director of Sales and Marketing of Conexys Asia Pacifc. Then I worked at Great Alliance Telecoms as Business Development Head, where I worked with the finest minds and businessmen in the industry. They pioneered the distribution streams of the leading telecoms. When you get the chance to work with leaders and pioneers, it’s like you’re learning new things from the masters. It’s like playing basketball with Michael Jordan.

After that, I went to Digital Media Exchange. I’ve been in this company since April.

What is your most fulfilling career experience so far in DME?

I enjoy trading wits with my bosses. These guys think fast, they have an understanding of the market and know where they want to go and how to get there. Everytime they give you a pat on the back, “Great job,” it’s something. At the same time, they are very receptive and don’t claim to know everything.

What consumes us in this organization is knowing our end-users. We are very pro-active in addressing the needs of the customers; we make it a point that we are two steps ahead of the competition.

How do you remain competitive, as a leader in the industry?

There are no shortcuts in life. You just work hard. I am so blessed because I am in a position where I love what I am doing. I would do this for free. It’s the love for what I do that makes me at get up at 5:30 a.m. and go about the day with a lot of excitement.

I always sharpen my fundamentals in marketing and business development, by constantly reading and learning from the masters.

I stay in touch with my previous bosses. They have no qualms about giving me advice, nothing specific, but to guide me. In the same manner that my previous subordinates would ask me and I would give them guidance. But at the end of the day, it’s their call.

Where do you go from here?

I have business plans. What I’d want is to see it through. I don’t have the money to start it yet. It would take more than a billion pesos. This business plan is solid. One of these days, I know I’ll meet an investment partner and I’ll see it through. I have the confidence that this will take the industry by storm.

What advice would you give young managers who ask you for advice so they can reach your same level of success?

It’s all about love, not just for excellence, but the love for perfection---that’s what consumes me. Love what you’re doing.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. But at the same time, don’t use that to excuse yourself from preparing. Everyday, I prepare for the next day. I am always ready. I know exactly what I need to do and what I need to get done. Otherwise, you’re better off staying home.

Be positive and aggressive at all times. No one succeeded by being passive in any field.

Every time you visualize yourself, don’t go by your day-to-day activities independently of God. I pray everyday. That’s where I draw strength and wisdom from: prayer. Despite the 16-hour workdays, I find time to pray. What I do is sacred---and when you’re in that frame of mind, you know that what you do does not hinge exclusively on you, but on Someone who is infinitely more powerful.