Bola Tobun is Investments and Treasury Manager at the London Borough of Enfield. She is a frequent participant on the local government conference circuit, which is where we met, and she has a long history of experience in pension fund roles across local government and pensions administration businesses.

Our conversation starts with Bola’s background in chemical engineering, and how this drove her deep knowledge of the science behind climate change and the energy transition. We move to her investment role, how it originally came about and how she developed her role to respond when her employer declared a “climate emergency”. We hear how her pension fund panel was guided through workshops organized around the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and how the diverse panel settled on core goals to weave into their investment beliefs and process. We hear how they are engaging with managers now to push for change and measure ESG risks.

We then turn to diversity in the investment profession today, whether much progress has been made and the principles and core beliefs that Bola relies upon to guide her in her investment role, and in life.