Solana Foundation has appointed two former executives to strengthen its institutional partnerships and payments infrastructure, following a series of new collaborations. Rachel Conlan, formerly Binance’s chief marketing officer, has been named chief strategy officer, overseeing institutional engagement and ecosystem growth. Jamal Raees, a former Polygon Labs executive, will serve as general manager of payments, focusing on stablecoins and tokenized deposits. Both roles reflect the foundation’s push to expand its presence in global markets and deepen ties with major financial services providers.
Conlan’s appointment marks her third stint in senior marketing roles, having previously worked at OKX, CAA Sports, and Havas. Raees will prioritize adoption of stablecoin payments and tokenized assets, leveraging Solana’s existing partnerships with fintech firms like Modern Treasury and payment networks such as Mastercard and Western Union. The foundation also announced a collaboration with Amazon Web Services to integrate stablecoin transactions into its blockchain infrastructure.
The hiring comes as Solana prepares for Alpenglow, a planned network upgrade targeting a dramatic reduction in transaction finality time—from approximately 12.8 seconds to about 150 milliseconds. The upgrade remains a key priority, though its timeline has not been specified. Meanwhile, the network has processed over $5 trillion in stablecoin volume year-to-date in 2026, with over $4.5 billion in real-world assets and $620 million in tokenized equity supply.
Solana’s rapid expansion underscores its growing role in institutional adoption, with recent partnerships positioning it as a key player in decentralized finance and cross-border payments.
