Paul Matson
"Paul Matson has served since 2003 as chief executive of the Arizona State Retirement System, a state agency with approximately 220 employees and contractors, and an appropriated budget of more than $20 million. The ASRS serves more than 550,000 members and oversees an investment portfolio of approximately $27 billion in its administration of the state's largest pension plan.
Reporting divisions include legislative and external affairs, member services, financial services, information technology, investment management and human resources. Mr. Matson reports to a nine-member Board of Trustees.
Mr. Matson began at the ASRS in 1995 as chief investment officer, responsible for the internal and external multi asset-class investment management of the fund and development of the internal investment management division of the ASRS.
From 1994 to 1995, Mr. Matson served as Senior Investment Advisor, Treasury Division, Workers Compensation Board, Alberta, Canada. His overall responsibilities were for asset mix, asset class selection, manager analysis and performance monitoring for the multi-billion dollar fund.
From 1989 to 1994, Mr. Matson served as Financial Analyst and Portfolio Analyst, Investment Management Division, Alberta Treasury. His duties included performance measurement, derivatives analysis, fixed income analysis, asset mix analysis, liability analysis and various portfolio support activities.
Mr. Matson has lectured at numerous conferences and universities, and previously as an adjunct professor at Western International University. He is a past president of what is now the Phoenix CFA Society.
He also sits on the Arizona Deferred Compensation Board and is a founding member of the Canada-Arizona Business Council. Mr. Matson is also a graduate of the FBI's Citizen's Academy.
Mr. Matson holds a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Arizona State University with research on international terrorism; a Master of Business Administration degree from Simon Fraser University, Canada with research on derivatives; and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta, Canada. "