After splitting from his co-founders and leaving Supernatural, Paul Caiozzo has found a new role, joining Tombras as chief creative officer of the agency’s Knoxville, Tennessee, headquarters.

Jeff Benjamin, who was formerly in the Knoxville CCO role, becomes the agency’s first global CCO.

In addition, Tombras has made other moves to strengthen its creative and strategy offering. Avinash Baliga has been promoted to CCO in New York. Milla Stolte has been promoted to head of strategy in Knoxville. And Kelsey Karson, former head of strategy at Special U.S., joins Tombras New York in that same role.

Caiozzo’s hire reunites him with Benjamin. The two worked together during Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s 2000s heyday, creating culture-busting work for Burger King—with Benjamin making “Subservient Chicken” and “Whopper Sacrifice” and Caiozzo leading work including “Whopper Freakout.”

Benjamin said Caiozzo’s strength is making breakthrough advertising with impressive range that defies platforms, from the mischievous BK work to the absurdity of Kayak to the emotional storytelling of the highly regarded “Emily’s Oz” spot for Comcast, which Caiozzo made at Goodby Silverstein & Partners.

“He’s done it throughout his entire career—and just like Avi, he’s incredibly prolific,” Benjamin said of Caiozzo.

Baliga said he’s also long admired Caiozzo’s knack for creating advertising with “a clear but different view that always seems a few steps ahead of the industry.”

Caiozzo said he’s excited to team up with Benjamin again. Also, after living in Portugal for several years, he and his family wanted to move back to the U.S.—but not to New York. Knoxville, he said, had susprising similarities to the vibe they’d enjoyed in Europe.

“It has an intangible energy, something that felt a little bit different,” he said. “Then I met the team, and it was love at first sight. I’m the most excited I’ve been in a very, very long time.”

It’s possible some Supernatural clients will also follow Caiozzo to Knoxville. Kayak, for instance, did not stay with Supernatural after it transitioned to a new entity, Supernatural AI. Caiozzo said it was too early to talk specifics but said “there will be clients that are probably going to come over.”

Also read: Supernatural AI hires CCO as agency moves on

The next step in the Tombras growth plan

Dooley Tombras, president of Tombras, characterized Caiozzo’s hire—and the other personnel moves—as the next step in the independent agency’s journey to becoming one of the industry’s top shops.

Tombras was founded in 1946, but its new era really began in 2019, when Benjamin joined as CCO and the shop committed itself to creativity. Earlier this year, Tombras was named Ad Age’s first Independent Agency of the Year.

“Jeff took us to a whole other level. Avi has been a force multiplier—New York has gone from 10 people to 35 people in a year. And having Paul supercharge Knoxville makes us even more magnetic for recruiting in Knoxville and sets us up for growth across the agency,” Tombras said.

Elevating Benjamin into the global CCO role also reflects the expansion of the agency, which opened its third office, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this summer after acquiring creative agency Niña.

Knoxville, with its 280 employees, remains a key focus, even as the agency expands geographically and absorbs recent new business wins including Spirit Airlines, Kellanova and Newell Brands.

“The heart and soul of the agency will always be Knoxville. We’ve got to maintain that center of gravity,” said Tombras. “For Paul to come here is especially important to me and important for the agency.”

“I’d always heard stories about how Wieden[+Kennedy] is strong when Portland is strong,” said Benjamin. “There are awesome things happening in New York, and we have to balance that out with what’s happening in Knoxville. We can’t take our eyes off our heart.”