Solana Foundation Names Leaders for Strategy and Payments

The Solana Foundation has appointed Rachel Conlan as chief strategy officer and Jamal Raees as general manager of payments, adding senior leaders as it seeks to expand institutional partnerships and payments activity on its network. The Foundation announced the appointments on September 24. Conlan, who previously spent three years at Binance, will lead strategy across institutional partnerships and ecosystem growth, the organization said. Raees, formerly of Polygon Labs, will work with payment companies and enterprises to promote the network’s use for payments. The Foundation’s announcement described the roles as part of a broader effort to turn institutional interest into practical uses. One account of the announcement said Conlan would also coordinate direct implementations with banks and investment funds; the Foundation’s broader description of her remit centered on partnerships, growth and market strategy. The reports did not identify specific new implementations resulting from the hires. The appointments come as Solana seeks to position itself for stablecoin payments and tokenized financial services.