Polymarket hires Goldman Sachs veteran Lisa Mantil for institutional growth
Polymarket has hired Lisa Mantil, a nearly 30-year Goldman Sachs veteran and former partner, as head of institutional growth. The hire announced September 29 signals the CFTC-regulated prediction market platform's push to attract Wall Street liquidity and deepen its institutional trading business. Polymarket operates under its CFTC designation following its 2025 acquisition of licensed exchange QCEX (QCX). Mantil's role targets bringing more institutional capital and participants onto the platform as it competes for regulated market share.
Polymarket now pairs its CFTC-regulated status with a Goldman Sachs pedigree at the exact moment competitors are pursuing different institutional paths. Morgan Stanley joined NEXTPredict as the first major US bank in prediction markets just days ago, while Robinhood builds through crypto exchange partnerships rather than traditional finance hires. Mantil's network opens doors to hedge funds and propriety trading desks that have watched prediction markets from the sidelines.
Her success or failure will test whether a single senior hire can convert regulatory compliance into actual institutional flow. The comparison with NEXTPredict's bank-branded marketing deal and Robinhood's partner model will clarify which institutional strategy produces trading volume. Mantil lands balance-sheet participants, Kalshi and ForecastEx will face pressure to match with their own senior Wall Street recruiting.