The CEO of Sonos, Patrick Spence, resigns after mishandling the app update.
The speaker manufacturer Sonos is undergoing significant changes. Patrick Spence, the company's CEO, is stepping down from his position.
Sonos, the speaker manufacturer, is undergoing significant changes in its executive leadership. Patrick Spence, who has served as CEO for eight years, will be leaving the company. Tom Conrad, co-founder of Pandora and current board member of Sonos, will assume the role of interim CEO starting today.
Last year was challenging for Sonos, which launched a major update to its software platform that was plagued with bugs and removed some features that had been part of its offering for a long time. This is especially problematic for a brand known for the reliability of its products; Sonos speakers are designed to work optimally and in sync across different rooms and music services. Consequently, the company dedicated a significant amount of effort to fixing issues and releasing updates to restore functionalities and improve reliability. However, the situation worsened with product delivery delays and a decline in sales.
Recently, Sonos has begun launching new products, such as the Sonos Ace headphones and the Arc Ultra soundbar, but it seems that its reputation has taken a hit, which could affect the brand's recovery—the sales of the Ace headphones have been disappointing. In August, the company laid off 100 employees, representing about 6% of its workforce at that time. Additionally, revenue fell 16% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period the previous year.
Tom Conrad, in his new role, has extensive experience in the tech sector, having founded Pandora and previously worked at Snap as VP of Product and at Quibi as Product Director. Recently, he launched Zero, a fasting app. In an email to Sonos employees, Conrad acknowledged that the year has been tough and that despite launching notable products, the company has disappointed many customers due to functional issues, such as alarm failures and music playback problems.
While Conrad serves in the interim role, the Sonos board is searching for a permanent CEO. Currently, Sonos shares have seen a slight increase of 3.3% in pre-market trading.