BLAST appoints former Activision Blizzard executive as SVP of Brand Partnerships

Esports tournament organiser BLAST has appointed Steve Rossi, a former Activision Blizzard executive, as its Senior Vice President of Brand Partnerships.

With former senior leadership experience in the NFL and Univision Communications, Rossi will oversee global sponsorship sales and partner management for the company.

Before joining BLAST, he last held a senior partnerships role at the North American collegiate esports platform, PlayVS. However, his most notable accomplishments include helping expand Activision Blizzard‘s esports efforts, working with brand partners in North America, EMEA, and APAC.

Based in New York, US, Rossi will work with gaming publishers, BLAST partners, and internal teams to create new fan experiences and partnerships.

“The team has established real global momentum,” Rossi said in a release. “And the opportunity to build on that foundation and lead the next phase of global partnerships strategy at a company with such creative ambition and international scale was incredibly compelling.”

Rossi joins at a time when BLAST is expanding its esports presence, hosting events in diverse locations across various scenes.

2025 saw the company host 15 arena events across eight countries, from the BLAST.tv Austin Major in the US for Counter-Strike 2, to the BLAST R6 Munich Major in Germany for Rainbow Six Siege X.

In a release, Leo Matlock, Chief Business Officer at BLAST, said: “As BLAST continues to grow its international footprint and evolve its partnership offering, Steve’s leadership will be instrumental in driving sustainable revenue growth and long-term value creation.

“The last 12 months have seen us expand globally while delivering record output in the process, Steve is joining BLAST at an incredibly exciting time.”

2026 is setting up to be yet another exciting year for BLAST events, with tournaments to be held in Hong Kong, Texas, Rotterdam, and more. The esports brand recently entered a multi-year partnership with Supercell to operate the Brawl Stars ecosystem from 2026 onwards.