Chief Investment Officer of the North Carolina Investment Authority, Kevin SigRist, is announcing additions to his leadership team. This includes a new Director of Real Estate and a General Counsel.
Tessa Tanis has been appointed as Director of Real Estate. Tanis will source, structure and monitor a variety of real estate including funds, direct investments, co-investments and secondaries for an $8 billion real estate portfolio. She will report to Chief Investment Officer Kevin SigRist.
Tanis rejoined the Department of State Treasurer in May 2025 as a Portfolio Manager, building on her previous tenure with the department from 2015 to 2018. Before returning to NCIA, she served as a real estate investment consultant to Duke University Management Company (DUMAC). Her earlier career includes leadership positions spanning investment management and investor relations for private equity real estate developers, as well as asset management, investment and development roles with publicly traded retail and office REITs. Tessa holds a Bachelor of Science in public relations and a Master of Science in accounting from Kent State University. She is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and is an active member of PREA, IREI, NAIOP and the AICPA.
Additionally, Bill Watts was recently appointed as the General Counsel of NCIA, serving as the chief legal advisor and Board Secretary to NCIA. Watts will report to the Chief Investment Officer.
Watts brings more than 20 years of experience leading legal, compliance and operating teams across global organizations. Most recently, he served as General Counsel of the Solutions Platform at Mubadala Capital and Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners. Previously, Watts practiced law at two leading law firms in Washington, D.C., advising institutional investor clients on their investment activities in the U.S. and across the globe. He has significant securities regulatory experience and formerly served as an attorney with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. He is an Advisory Board Member of Development in Gardening, a non-profit focused on the nutrition and livelihood of various communities in Kenya, Uganda and Senegal. Watts earned both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“We are laser focused on improving the returns for our North Carolina Retirement Systems,” said SigRist. “Tessa and Bill will serve critical roles as we continue to rebalance assets to better align with long-term investment objectives, including eliminating our pension deficits.”
About NCIA:
The North Carolina Investment Authority was created by the General Assembly under the 2025 State Investment Modernization Act. It is governed by a Board of Directors and chaired by the elected State Treasurer.