Prediction markets platform Polymarket is looking to hire a chief risk officer as it works to expand its regulated business in the US, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates Polymarket’s US operations, has stipulated that the platform needs to hire a chief risk officer to oversee its US entities. CFTC rules prohibit listing some of the more controversial contracts in the US, such as those related to war, that Polymarket offers in its international business.
The search for a chief risk officer comes after Polymarket added a bench of legal expertise in recent months to work with chief legal officer Neal Kumar, a former partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, the people familiar said.
The legal team recently hired Olivia Chalos from Sullivan & Cromwell as Kumar’s deputy. Matthew Lischin, who led the North American global markets law group at RBC Capital, also joined Polymarket, along with Erin Savoie from Proskauer Rose and Bailey Springer from Sullivan & Cromwell.
A representative for Polymarket declined to comment.
The platform has courted controversy by listing contracts tied to assassination, terrorism and war in its offshore venue, with critics on both sides of the aisle in the US.
Rival Kalshi Inc. is also hiring from the world of mainstream financial services. The prediction exchange recently hired Udesh Jha, the head of post-trade services at CME Group, to run quantitative analysis. In February, Kalshi tapped Andy Ross, the former head of prime and financing at Standard Chartered Plc to help build its business serving institutional investors.
Read: CFTC to Craft New Prediction Market Rules, Chairman Says (2)
