Polymarket Appoints Travis VanderZanden Chief Growth Officer as North American Gaming Sector Records Multiple Leadership Changes

Polymarket continues to build out its U.S. leadership as it scales prediction market offerings on sports and other events. The company named Travis VanderZanden Chief Growth Officer. VanderZanden previously served as Vice President at Uber, held the COO role at Lyft, and founded the electric scooter company Bird.

VanderZanden will oversee growth and marketing strategy. “Most people still think of prediction markets as a place to trade on elections or sports,” VanderZanden wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing his career change. “IMO that’s the smallest version of what this becomes … Shayne Coplan’s built something genuinely rare, and I’m here to help him scale it to the world.”

This hire follows Polymarket’s recent additions of Megan McGrath from Robinhood as chief compliance officer and Paul Jordan from Nasdaq as chief risk officer.

Sector-Wide Executive Moves Target Growth, Compliance and Technology

Additional appointments detailed by SBC Americas show a pattern of operators and suppliers seeking specialized experience. Fiona Power joined The Unit as Chief Commercial Officer after more than seven years at FanDuel, where she developed multi-state partnership agreements and supported launches of more than 20 retail sportsbooks. Based in New York City, Power will drive international expansion, commercial strategy and new partnerships.

Tom Pohlman, with 15 years at Golden Nugget Atlantic City, was named president of Bally’s Atlantic City. The move arrives as Bally’s pursues billion-dollar construction projects in three states against a backdrop of sustained multi-billion-dollar losses.

Nicklas Insulander will become COO at Internet Vikings effective in October. The Swedish provider holds fully licensed in-state hosting in 24 U.S. states and serves European and North American sports betting and iGaming clients.

NorthStar Gaming shifted its C-suite with Corey Goodman confirmed as permanent CEO, interim replacement Ben Powell stepping in for resigned CFO Chin Dhushenthen, and Krisztina Kalla named vice president of compliance. The Ontario operator faces financial difficulties, prior layoffs, expenditure cuts and a trading ban on the Toronto Stock Exchange after failing to file audited statements.

EveryMatrix appointed Jeppe Wienziers Stenbæk, formerly with Inpay and EY Denmark, to lead AI implementation across operations.

Limitations Exposed in Current Leadership Reshuffles

NorthStar Gaming’s changes illustrate a limitation: new executives arrive amid regulatory filings failures and cost reductions rather than pure growth phases. Such conditions test whether compliance-focused hires can restore market access and investor confidence before further restrictions mount. Operators and suppliers alike must weigh whether cross-sector recruits deliver measurable stability within existing regulatory and financial constraints.

Reporting: SBC Americas

Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.