Agency Leadership Decoded: Hakuhodo International Indonesia’s Devi Attamimi on designing value for people, brands, and culture

When Farhana Eldini Devi Attamimi stepped into the role of group CEO at Hakuhodo International Indonesia (HIID), she entered a leadership environment that demanded both speed and empathy. With i-dac Indonesia as the group’s media arm and several companies under her watch, she knew her approach would need to balance strategic clarity with an understanding of people’s realities.

Six months into her tenure, Devi has set in motion structural and cultural changes that reflect this dual commitment. From implementing the Modular Organisation model to embedding Hakuhodo’s philosophy of Sei-katsu-sha Value Design, her leadership is reshaping how the group responds to Indonesia’s complex and fast-evolving market.

In this Agency Leadership Decoded feature, MARKETECH APAC spoke with Devi to uncover the principles guiding her journey, the frameworks HIID is using to stay competitive, and how she envisions i-dac Indonesia’s role in creating work that uplifts people.

Rewiring the organisation

For Devi, leadership starts with a foundation she calls “clarity with compassion.”

“With several companies under HIID, it is critical that everyone understands the direction and rhythm of the group. Clear communication builds confidence and allows each team to move in sync,” she explained. “But clarity alone is not enough. People everywhere are dealing with personal and professional pressures. Showing compassion, listening, understanding context, and supporting individual growth create trust and a healthier culture.”

This philosophy became even more important when she stepped into the group CEO role. Devi said she went through what she calls a “mindset reset,” where ideas she once viewed as limitations became opportunities.

“I have learned to let go of ‘the way things have always been done’ so that new ways of working can emerge,” she added.

When Devi joined HIID, one of her earliest priorities was implementing the ‘Modular Organisation’ concept—a structure designed to increase agility by breaking down silos.

Among her first priorities as CEO was implementing the ‘Modular Organisation’ concept—a structure designed to boost agility and break down silos.

“The Modular Organisation breaks down silos and allows us to assemble cross-functional teams around a client’s specific challenge,” she elaborated. “Instead of three people doing one narrow task, a single module can combine creative, media, and data expertise. Employees get to work in areas where they can stretch their skills, and clients receive more holistic solutions. It keeps us competitive and energizes the way we work.”

Reflecting on HIID’s journey, she added, “We started in Indonesia in 2003, when advertising workflows were more layered. Today consumers adopt things faster, are exposed to many things quicker, and we needed to match that agility without losing quality.”

Designing value through human insight 

Central to HIID’s future is the idea of becoming a ‘Sei-katsu-sha Value Design Company’, a philosophy rooted in Hakuhodo’s human-first approach.

“Sei-katsu-sha is a Hakuhodo philosophy that views people as multi-facetted individuals, not just consumers. They are parents, friends, students, and workers all at once,” Devi said.

This perspective, combined with HIID’s purpose—‘to make life brighter with ideas that uplift people’—forms the foundation of how the group approaches strategy.

“When we generate ideas we start with the question: what real value can we create in someone’s life? We think deeper about how brands and products can play a bigger role in making people’s lives more fulfilled,” she said. 

For Devi, this means looking beyond value propositions to also consider timing and audience.

“Value design keeps our strategies human first and commercially relevant,” she noted. 

Navigating Indonesia’s diversity and shifts

Operating in Indonesia means engaging with one of the most diverse consumer landscapes in the region. For agencies, this complexity is both a challenge and an opportunity.

Devi sees it the same way. Serving audiences that differ by culture, subculture, and media habits requires an adaptive approach to manage that diversity.

“Insights span from universal and cultural levels to individual media consumption. In each part, we use a different lens to match different insights and cater to the diversity of Indonesia,” Devi explained.

At HIID, she shared, they use a process called ‘Ask-Draw-Build-Measure.’ The process begins with asking the right questions to understand what really matters to people. From there, they draw insights that reflect the unique character of each audience, build ideas and connections that fit different subgroups, and continue to measure so they can keep learning and improving.

“This approach keeps our strategies grounded in real human truths while giving brands the agility to stay relevant across Indonesia’s many cultures,” she shared. 

Beyond diversity, Devi is paying close attention to the country’s shifting middle class, which she considers pivotal to both the economy and cultural trends.

“The middle class is undergoing turbulence because of the economic situation. After years of focusing on lifestyle upgrades, many are now questioning whether they are progressing or just surviving, something you can see in social media conversations like #inthiseconomy,” she said.

She noted that this group remains both the engine of Indonesia’s economy and a driver of culture. “We are preparing a detailed study, to be released in November, to help brands understand how this segment is redefining progress and value,” she added.

Celebrating wins, building momentum

This year, i-dac Indonesia received multiple recognitions at the NEXT Awards Indonesia 2025—a milestone Devi sees as both validation and motivation.

“Every win is a team win. These awards show that our modular model and value design approach are delivering real results for clients. They also validate the trust clients place in us as partners,” she said.

She highlighted i-dac’s Bronze win at the NEXT Awards 2025 for ‘The Most Innovative Agency Team of the Year’ as particularly meaningful. “It recognizes more than just our great work. It is an acknowledgment of our work culture, which empowers the team to be productive, agile, and always striving to better meet our clients’ needs,” she explained.

But for Devi, awards are not an endpoint. “Recognition is encouraging, but it is not the finish line. Our focus now is to build on this momentum, helping more brands solve business problems while creating work that genuinely improves people’s lives.”