Polymarket banner exterior the New York Inventory Change on Oct. seventh, 2025.
Kevin Stankiewicz | CNBC
Prediction market platform Polymarket is getting ready for what’s anticipated to be a busy fall season for occasion contract exchanges by making high-profile hires and restructuring its advertising and marketing technique.
Polymarket employed Travis VanderZanden, founding father of E-Scooter startup Fowl in 2017, as its chief development officer. VanderZanden beforehand labored at Uber Applied sciences and Lyft as effectively.
Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan “is the visionary of the prediction market house, and it is a huge market alternative,” VanderZanden stated in a press release to CNBC. “It is an thrilling time to come back in as we construct out the manager workforce to assist information the following stage and ensure we’re buttoned up for the lengthy haul.”
Bloomberg first reported VanderZanden’s appointment final week.
Shayne Coplan, chief government officer of Polymarket, on the ground of the New York Inventory Change (NYSE) in New York, US, on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Photos
VanderZanden will even oversee Polymarket’s advertising and marketing, an individual conversant in the matter stated. That is an space of the corporate’s enterprise that got here below scrutiny following a Wall Road Journal investigation that claimed the corporate performed deceptive advertising and marketing campaigns.
The Journal stated Polymarket ensured it seemed as if content material creators it used have been successful on the platform when, in truth, they weren’t utilizing any of their very own cash. That report led to an investigation by the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee — the federal regulator for prediction markets.
Polymarket has applied a brand new organizational construction for the advertising and marketing workforce set to be led by VanderZanden, up to date its tips for promotional companions and performed coaching classes with workers to tell them of latest insurance policies, the particular person conversant in the matter stated. The corporate is now working with a third-party consulting agency to watch content material launched by promotional companions and ensure that it follows the brand new tips, the particular person stated.
Different distinguished managers have been added to strengthen Polymarket in 2026 as effectively.
Megan McGrath, previously of Robinhood, is now the chief compliance officer of Polymarket’s U.S. trade, and Natalie Oblazny, previously at Coinbase, heads regulatory affairs for the home platform. Polymarket’s U.S. trade debuted in Might and operates individually from the worldwide market.
Polymarket additionally employed Shana Bautista, a former FBI official who labored at Coinbase, as its international head of investigations and intelligence, whereas Paul Jordan joined from Nasdaq and can function the chief threat officer for Polymarket U.S.
The entire new workers come as prediction market platforms put together for 2 main drivers of visitors this fall. The beginning of the NFL season in September and the runup to midterm elections in November are anticipated to spice up buying and selling volumes after home and worldwide exercise dipped following the finish of the World Cup in July.
Disclosure: CNBC and Kalshi have a industrial relationship that features buyer acquisition and a minority funding.
