Full Breakdown
Polymarket Appoints Former Goldman Sachs Partner to Lead Institutional Growth
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
Polymarket, a decentralized prediction-market exchange, announced the hiring of Lisa Mantil as head of institutional growth. Mantil, who spent nearly three decades at Goldman Sachs and most recently served as a partner and global head of the bank’s ETF Accelerator, will oversee efforts to attract Wall Street liquidity and expand the platform’s role in investment and risk-management strategies. The appointment follows Polymarket’s official launch of its U.S. exchange in May 2026 and a broader talent-acquisition push that earlier in the month added Warren Jenson as chief financial officer.
Background & Context
Prediction-market platforms have experienced a surge in trading volume over the past year, driven largely by retail interest in sports-related contracts. As volumes rise, operators are seeking to move beyond retail traders and court institutional participants. Rival exchange Kalshi completed the industry’s first block trade in April 2026, and Polymarket’s international platform executed its first block trade a month later. The move toward institutional liquidity occurs amid ongoing regulatory disputes with U.S. states over oversight of sports-event contracts, creating uncertainty about the future of those products.
Data & Statistics
- Kalshi’s April block trade marked the first large, privately negotiated transaction on a U.S. prediction-market exchange.
- Polymarket’s international platform completed a block trade in May 2026.
- In June 2026, Polymarket executed its first institutional block trade—a six-figure transaction involving graphics-processing-unit (GPU) compute assets.
Official Statements & Responses
Polymarket’s CEO and founder Shayne Coplan said that Mantil’s extensive network and experience in institutional finance position the company to deepen its engagement with banks, fund managers, and trading firms. In a company statement, Polymarket highlighted that institutional participants have previously relied on proxy instruments that may not align with the risks they aim to hedge, and that direct access to the platform could open new markets and provide a more precise hedging tool. Mantil indicated that she will apply her career of guiding institutions to adopt new products and enter new markets to build Polymarket’s institutional business.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The opportunity to join Polymarket is a rare chance to help shape an exploding asset class at an inflection point in its development,” — Lisa Mantil, formerly of Goldman Sachs, to lead institutional growth
- “Lisa's experience and relationships across the institutional world are world class,” — Shayne Coplan, CEO and founder
- “The opportunity to join Polymarket is a rare chance to participate in the formation of an explosively growing asset class at an inflection point,” — Lisa Mantil, formerly of Goldman Sachs, to lead institutional growth
- “I will apply my career of guiding institutions to adopt new products and enter new markets to building Polymarket's institutional business.” — Shayne Coplan, CEO and founder
Additional Context
On March 20, 2026, Polymarket displayed signage at a pop-up bar in Washington, D.C.’s Situation Room, underscoring the firm’s growing public profile as it pursues institutional partnerships.
