Leading 4,000 people no harder than leading 100, says Dept CEO Dimi Albers

Albers believes in fostering an environment where leaders throughout the organization carry equal responsibility. Over the year he’s built a team of empowered individuals, instilling a sense of entrepreneurial ownership along the way. “I don’t have to do everything myself because I’ve built such a great set of leaders around me. Many of them are actually invested in the business and have even put their own money into it. That personal stake makes our culture more entrepreneurial and also deeply personal to each person.” This distributed model of responsibility ensures that the agency’s growth doesn’t rest on the shoulders of one individual but is a collective effort.

Albers’s journey to the top has been an interesting one, starting his career in 2006 in the city of Delft with digital agency TamTam, which would, through equity investment and merger, morph into what is today Dept. Albers headed to Amsterdam to launch the office there in 2017, taking on the CEO role at that time. Under his guidance, Dept has rapidly expanded into a global powerhouse with a presence in 30 offices across Europe, North America and Latin America. The agency today employs over 4,000 people, or ‘Depsters’ as they prefer to be known, combining creativity, tech and data to deliver campaigns for huge brands such as Google, Philips, Patagonia, and eBay.

Amid the ongoing – and often emotionally charged – debate around agency hybrid working models, Albers has clear, principle-based expectations for his team’s return to the office. “We don’t mandate office attendance like some companies do, but we do expect people to come back.” Similar to Iris Worldwide CEO Ian Millner’s recent comments to The Drum, Albers also sees the office as a key part of agency life, contributing not just to the financial health of the company but also to agency culture and overall employee satisfaction and also on client relationships. “It’s about building that sense of connection. We want people interacting, seeing each other and benefiting from that spontaneous creative energy.” While Dept encourages in-office work for three days a week, this is communicated with flexibility, emphasizing common sense and a positive approach rather than rigid demands.

“Instead of threatening people to get back, we try to make it positive,” Albers adds, emphasizing the importance of balancing expectations with empathy. This flexibility extends to different regions, respecting local conditions and cultural nuances, but the core belief remains: the best ideas often come when people come together physically.

For Albers, leadership isn’t about commanding from the front but about creating an environment where his teams can thrive. “My number one priority is to make sure the rest of the team can perform,” he says. To achieve this, he focuses on clarity, aligning everyone around the key priorities of clients, people and culture. “It’s all about pioneering work, pushing for world-firsts and constantly asking, ‘What’s the next big thing?’” This focus on innovation has become a fundamental part of Dept’s strategy.

However, Albers acknowledges that the broader challenges facing agencies today aren’t just operational, but they are deeply human. “The biggest challenge, at least how I see it, is maintaining our performance while supporting our people.” This human-first approach was especially evident during the recent US elections, which brought significant anxiety to many Dept employees. “People’s worries about what’s happening politically or economically inevitably spill into their work lives. It’s important that we, as leaders, recognize that and support them without letting it derail our own business focus.”

The impact of AI

Artificial intelligence is undeniably changing the landscape of marketing services and it is easy to become obsessed with how those changes will play out for agencies, but Albers refuses to let it dominate the focus of his leadership. “We know that there’s a shift coming, driven by AI, commoditization of services and economic pressures. But staring ourselves blindly at one technology won’t help us grow.” Instead, Albers advocates for a holistic approach to innovation – one that looks beyond individual technologies to understand their broader business implications.

For Dept, AI is not just about efficiency but about transformation. The agency is using AI to enhance its content production, scale media efforts and enrich customer experiences through better personalization. “We’re not just focused on how to do things cheaper, better and faster, but on how to grow the businesses of our clients by leveraging the right technologies for them.” This approach sees Dept helping clients launch AI-powered products and improve platforms, effectively marrying technology and creativity to create impact.

Being a B Corp

Like any agency that has achieved B Corp certification, it is a huge source of pride for Albers and all at Dept. The agency achieved B Corp status in October 2021, after a process that began during the Covid-19 pandemic. “All the different parts of our business had their own initiatives around making a positive impact. We wanted to bring them together under one unifying framework. The B Corp journey became a rallying point for the agency, connecting employees across offices and providing a clear purpose during a challenging time.

“We didn’t hire a chief responsibility officer. Instead, we had a team of 50 people across all locations working towards certification. It was a collective effort, and that’s what made it so powerful.”

The B Corp ethos influences Dept’s decision-making processes, but Albers emphasizes that it’s not about being dogmatic. “It’s not black and white. It’s about making informed decisions and continuously striving to be better.” For Albers, the certification represents a balance between profitability and positive impact, an approach he believes the entire industry should adopt.

To encapsulate his leadership style, Albers uses five words: energy, understanding, knowledge, fun and pioneering. His drive to innovate and push boundaries is matched by a genuine care for his people’s well-being. “Energy is key and so is having a deep understanding of both our business and the people within it.” Albers also speaks about the importance of maintaining a sense of fun – whether it’s enjoying the work or bringing humor into stressful situations, which keeps the Dept team spirit alive.

Perhaps though, most notably, Albers strives to be a pioneer. “At Dept, we want to do world-firsts, not just for our clients but for our own company too.” It’s this pioneering spirit, combined with a deep sense of empathy, that has allowed Dept to grow from a 100-person team to a global player while keeping its culture intact.

Looking ahead, Albers remains focused on staying adaptable, an absolute agency necessity given the ever-changing global landscape. As economic pressures, AI advancements and social dynamics continue to evolve, Albers is clear that the key to ongoing agency success lies in combining innovation with humanity. “We have to stay the course, keep pushing forward, and make sure that as we grow, we’re also taking care of our people and making a positive impact wherever we can.”

It’s an ambitious approach, but one that’s worked so far for Albers and Dept – leading with clarity, fostering a sense of ownership, and above all, making sure that even as the agency scales, the culture remains deeply personal and connected.