Lisa Mantil has left Goldman Sachs after nearly 27 years to join prediction market operator Polymarket. The former partner will lead the platform's institutional business, tasked with onboarding banks, corporations, and fund managers looking to hedge political and macro risks. Her arrival marks one of the most prominent traditional finance departures to the prediction market sector to date.
From Goldman's ETF desk to prediction markets
Mantil spent almost three decades at Goldman Sachs, securing a partnership—one of Wall Street's most coveted titles—and running the firm's ETF Accelerator, which helped clients launch exchange-traded funds. Polymarket is only the second employer of her career. Goldman CEO David Solomon personally introduced Mantil to Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan. Mantil said joining the company is a rare chance to help shape an exploding asset class at an inflection point.
Building block trades for institutional desks
Retail users have driven the recent prediction market boom, with much of the action concentrated on sports betting. Mantil's mandate is different. She is charged with building bespoke products for banks, hedge funds, and corporate treasuries that want to price and hedge interest rate moves, elections, and geopolitical conflicts.
Big investors rarely trade in retail order books. They rely on block trades—large, privately negotiated transactions designed to execute without moving the broader market. Rival exchange Kalshi executed the sector's first block trade in April, and Polymarket's international platform launched its own version a month later. Brokers told CNBC that Polymarket is now close to offering block trades on its US exchange as well. In the meantime, Coplan has openly invited anyone seeking to trade in large size to contact the firm directly.
Market share pressure and regulatory pushback
Mantil takes the role as Polymarket faces heavy commercial and legal pressure. Kalshi handled 83% of weekly volume in mid-September, maintaining a wide operational lead in regulated domestic trading.
Legal challenges are also mounting. On September 24, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Polymarket US, accusing the firm of running an illegal gambling operation in the state. The legal fight has heightened caution among traditional finance desks. Several institutions are actively staying away from prediction markets until state officials and federal regulators finally settle who has legal jurisdiction over sports contracts.
Neither Polymarket nor Shayne Coplan immediately responded to BeInCrypto's request for comment.
