Fifteen months ago, Pier Mario Vello left his job as CEO of a supermarket chain in northern Italy to take up the job of Secretary-General of the Cariplo Foundation, one of the largest of Italy’s banking foundations with assets of €8.2 billion – a big change. What has he made of it so far, Caroline Hartnell asked him. From the range of activities to management style to approaches to measurement and use of figures, it seems there has been a lot to surprise him.