Matt Halstead is a Director with the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, one of the world’s largest investment funds. Mr. Halstead leads Digital Asset investing for the firm. He also manages a global portfolio of real estate investments with responsibilities including new investment origination and strategy development. He is a voting member of the Real Estate Investment Committee. In 2012, he co-founded Chocolaterie Tessa, an artisan chocolate company in Austin, which he led with his wife Tessa. Prior to his current position, Mr. Halstead was responsible for sales and business development for the Vines of Mendoza, a private vineyard, winemaking and hospitality business based in Mendoza, Argentina. He began his career at Archon Capital and Goldman Sachs Real Estate Mezzanine Partners performing due diligence and underwriting of high-yield real estate debt investments. Mr. Halstead received a B.B.A. in Business Honors from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a Master in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin.