Symbiotic Taps Former Société Générale APAC Chief to Head Institutional Onchain Strategy

Symbiotic, a collateral markets platform backed by prominent crypto investors, has hired former Société Générale Asset Management executive Mahendran Nathan as its global head of onchain solutions. The appointment signals a strategic effort to bridge the gap between traditional institutional finance and onchain ecosystems.

A Push for Institutional Adoption

Based in Singapore, Nathan took up the role in August and is tasked with leading the design of investment products tailored for institutional asset owners and allocators, according to a report from Investing.com. His responsibilities will also include capital formation and institutional coverage across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific regions.

The hire addresses a key challenge in decentralized finance: creating the necessary investment structures, governance, and reporting frameworks required by large, regulated entities. Symbiotic aims to attract capital from pension funds, insurers, and sovereign wealth funds by building products that meet their stringent compliance and operational standards.

Veteran Asset Management Expertise

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Nathan brings extensive experience from traditional finance. During his tenure as chief executive and regional head for Asia Pacific at Société Générale Asset Management, he was credited with scaling the platform's assets under management from $300 million to $15 billion over seven years.

His career also includes a role as CEO for ASEAN, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and India at Russell Investments. Symbiotic, which is supported by investors including Paradigm, Pantera Capital, and Coinbase Ventures, highlighted Nathan's track record in securing mandates from central banks and sovereign wealth funds.

Symbiotic co-founder Misha Putiatin stated that Nathan’s "experience brings us closer to making institutional-scale onchain markets real."