Aramark CIO Makes Bottom-Up Feedback the Centerpiece of Modern IT Leadership

In most organizations, leadership is a one-way street, with directives moving from the executive floor to everyone else. A different leadership model flips that script, built on the belief that the most valuable feedback comes directly from the people closest to the work. But the bottom-up model requires more than a simple open-door policy. It depends on a culture of psychological safety, where leaders build intentional systems to surface honest feedback from the front lines.

Ariel Spak is the Vice President and International CIO at Aramark, where he oversees technology strategy for a $5B business across thirteen countries. With more than two decades of experience in finance and digital transformation, including senior leadership at Microsoft, he has come to believe that the modern CIO’s role extends beyond implementing systems to cultivating a culture where honest, unfiltered feedback becomes a core asset for growth.

"The best feedback I ever received came from my team, not from my managers. When you create a safe space for people to speak openly, that is when you get the most honest feedback," said Spak. But creating that safety requires more than just listening. Leaders have to prove they’ll act.

• To be honest: "You cannot ask for honesty and ignore what comes back. When you open that door, you need to be prepared to change course," Spak noted. Acting on feedback becomes a way to build trust by turning input into tangible improvements. That might mean redesigning a weekly meeting the team considers a waste of time or apologizing when someone failed to receive the support they needed. The key, he said, is that the leader sets the tone.

• Under the rug: The foundation for that honesty is vulnerability. "If you want that behavior to happen and you want your team to provide you feedback, you probably need to start by proactively providing feedback about yourself in front of them," Spak advised. Not only does it build rapport, but it also acts as a practical way to manage risk. As Spak pointed out, "The worst you can have is a culture where people try to hide mistakes, because that usually leads to compliance issues and underperformance."