Toygar Bazarkaya, whose 30-year career has spanned multiple agencies and continents, is joining Atlanta-based independent agency 22Squared as its new chief creative officer.

Bazarkaya was most recently CCO at Optimist in Los Angeles, which he joined in 2019. Prior to that, he held CCO roles at We Are Unlimited (the DDB unit that handled McDonald’s for a time) and Havas.

“Bringing in a chief creative officer that can galvanize the teams and push us forward has been a priority for us this year,” said Erica Hoholick, 22Squared’s CEO. “Toygar brings a proven history of creative excellence and an agile approach that will elevate our team and grow our business.”

“22Squared brings the high-touch service only an independent agency can offer at the scale of a network agency. It really is the best of both worlds,” Bazarkaya said. “The agency is special—it has great fundamentals, is 100% employee owned and has put together an amazing team. I am excited to join 22Squared, create some great work to grow our clients’ business and have fun while we’re at it.”

The agency’s most recent CCO was Matt O’Rourke, who left last year and has since opened his own shop, Super Serious.

22Squared, a century-old shop based in Atlanta with an office in Tampa, Florida, was named one of Ad Age's standout agencies in 2021. It helped reposition Baskin-Robbins last year and won acclaim for its “Invisible Hate” for the NAACP. The agency said it has fully embraced remote work and added over 15 new clients in the past two years.

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“There is no way an agency thrives for over 100 years without having a vision for the future,” said Bazarkaya, whose other agency experience includes BBDO, Mullen and Jung von Matt. “I can’t wait to continue this tradition and take the agency to new heights.”