England, United Kingdom

David Dashtoyan

Experienced Esports Partnerships & Marketing Leader

Building authentic programs with teams, athletes, and communities that translate esports culture into measurable marketing impact.

Experience

8 years of leadership in partnerships & sports marketing with a focus on relationships and growth.

Roles

Tundra Esports (family office group)

2 yrs 5 mos

Co‑Managing Director Jun 2024 – Jun 2025
Commercial Director Oct 2023 – Jun 2024
Head of Business Development Feb 2023 – Oct 2023

AIR Studios (family office group)

1 yr

Board Member Jul 2024 – Jun 2025

Parallel roles: this ran concurrently with my role at Tundra Esports

MTS Group

2 yrs 10 mos

Head of Business Development Aug 2019 – May 2022

Forward Gaming

1 yr

CEO & Co‑Founder Sep 2018 – Aug 2019

Own esports team, NYC

VK

1 yr 1 mo

Key Account Manager Sep 2017 – Sep 2018

Education

University of Oxford

Creative Writing Summer School Programme — Jul 2025

Moscow State University

Economics & Management (BA) — Sep 2012 – Sep 2016

Institutional Economics (MA) — Sep 2016 – Sep 2018

Case Study – PSG Tundra

Partnerships built for fans – whether you play with a ball, or a gamepad.

Tundra Esports × Paris Saint‑Germain

A joint brand for Rocket League, where football fandom meets competitive gaming.

We brought Tundra together with the legendary French football club Paris Saint‑Germain to compete in Rocket League under a shared identity. The partnership blended Tundra’s esports credibility with PSG’s global reach, creating a crossover story that felt native to the title, its seasonal calendar, and its fan culture.

My contribution

Led negotiations from first principles through to a signed 220‑page agreement (rights, IP, approvals, deliverables, and governance).
Executed the launch plan and PR announcement, aligning stakeholders, timings, and messaging across markets.
Oversaw marketing and partnership deliverables end‑to‑end (content calendar, approvals, tracking, and reporting).

Partnership strategy Negotiation Rocket League Launch & PR

Case Study – Virgin van Dijk

Athlete storytelling that stays authentic to competitive culture.

Tundra Esports and Virgil van Dijk content

▶ Watch on YouTube

Tundra Esports × Virgil van Dijk

Bringing a world‑class football captain into esports, as ambassador and shareholder.

We partnered with Virgil van Dijk — captain of Liverpool FC and the Netherlands national team — as a Tundra ambassador and shareholder. The goal: create content that felt like a genuine crossover, not a forced endorsement, and build a narrative that resonated with hardcore fans and mainstream audiences alike.

My contribution

Managed the relationship with Virgil’s agent, Duncan Ross, including getting the green light for all content ideas & collaboration proposals.
Oversaw production and budgeting for VVD content.
Aligned deliverables with partner value: usage rights, posting obligations, and clear timelines for each asset.

Athlete marketing Content production Brand storytelling Community-first

Case Study – Winline

A partnership built to last.

Tundra Esports × Winline

A multi‑year partnership that’s about to renew for a 4th year.

Attracted Winline as a 7-figure main sponsor of Tundra Esports.

My contribution

Full-cycle negotiation: from initial attraction, to proposal and a signed contract.
Led a team of 5 responsible for partnership delivery (content, approvals, timelines, and on-ground activations).
Oversight of reporting and regular check-ins with the clients. Aligning on performance, key learnings, and next-step planning.

Sponsorship Negotiation Partner ops Retention

Tundra Esports and Winline partnership visual

Marquee Tundra Partnerships

A snapshot of the most impactful partnerships I attracted and oversaw at Tundra Esports.

Case Study – AS Monaco Gambit

Bringing a top European football club into esports with a story that felt native.

AS Monaco × Gambit Esports (MTS)

A crossover partnership designed for fans, players, and partners.

I attracted AS Monaco as a partner for Gambit Esports and helped build a collaboration that connected traditional football fandom with competitive gaming, with clear rights, deliverables, and an execution plan that worked across stakeholders.

My contribution

End-to-end negotiations, with an in-person contract signing at the Stade Louis II in Monaco.
Set the partnership framework: rights, content, activations, approvals, and timelines.
High-level oversight of deliverables and partner comms to keep execution smooth and on-brand.

Partnership Sports crossover Contracting

Esports Management

Series of open lectures for the students of Moscow State University conducted in collaboration with Artem Bykov and Gevorg Akopyan.

Together with Artem Bykov and Gevorg Akopyan, we conducted a series of eight lectures on esports management, tournament organisation, and athlete management for the students of Moscow State University, Faculty of Economics.