Patrick Spence, Sonos’ CEO since 2017, has stepped down, the company announced Monday, with independent board member Tom Conrad stepping in at CEO.

Who is Tom Conrad?

Conrad, a former executive with Pandora, Snapchat, Quibi and other tech companies, will immediately step in at interim CEO at Sonos while the board initiatives a search for a permanent CEO with the help of an executive search firm.

In a statement, Sonos Chairman Julius Genachowski commended Spence for leading to Sonos’ success in wireless home audio and expanding into home theater, portables and headphones.

Conrad’s mandate, Genachowski says, is to improve customer experiences, drive innovation, and improve financial performance.

“With his deep product expertise and long-term relationship with Sonos, Tom is uniquely suited to guide the company forward during the transition and the Board looks forward to partnering with him closely,” Genachowski. “We are excited about the opportunity ahead.”

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During his time with Pandora nearly two decades ago, Conrad led an initiative to integrate Pandora and Sonos, which Conrad says gave him his “first glimpse” of Sonos’ potential.

“I am excited to work with our team to restore the reliability and user experience that have defined Sonos, while bringing innovative new products to market,” Conrad said in a statement. “Together, we will focus on delivering extraordinary experiences for our customers and strong results for our shareholders.”

Sonos’s Tumultuous Year

Spence has overseen a tumultuous 2024 as CEO for the company, including a rebuilt Sonos app that was plagued with issues from the start, resulting in bad press and bad reviews from customers.

Under Spence’s leadership in 2024, the company has faced backlash and bad press from the rollout of a new app, leading to Spence to publicly apologize for the rocky rollout. Users have criticized the new version of the app, citing volume controls not working, saved radio stations disappearing, grouped speakers not playing the same content, and overall poor design.

The company in October also pledged to undertake a host of new quality control initiatives to fix its mobile app and resolve customer complaints. Those initiatives were focused on improving quality standards, broadening beta testing, and a focus on quality app updates rather than speed.

In tandem with these developments, Sonos reported a worsening net loss of $38.1 million in its fiscal 2024 report compared to $10.2 million in 2023. The company’s last full year of profitability was in 2022, when it reported a net income of $67 million. The company’s stock price has fallen about 70% since its all-time high of about $43 in 2021.

According to Sonos, however, the leadership change is unrelated to its fiscal first quarter results, which are due to be reported on Feb. 6.

Conrad’s Plan to Put Sonos Back on Track as Interim CEO

In a letter to employees reported by several media outlets, Conrad said the company let its customers down in 2024 after a new version of the company’s mobile app was released in May.

“As we’ve seen, getting some important things right (Arc Ultra and Ace are remarkable products!) is just not enough when our customers’ alarms don’t go off, their kids can’t hear their playlist during breakfast, their surrounds don’t fire, or they can’t pause the music in time to answer the buzzing doorbell.”

However, Conrad also said getting “back on track” is not enough, and pledges to help expand the Sonos platform well beyond “out loud audio at home.”

“I’ve heard from many of you about your own frustrations about how far we’ve drifted from our shared ideals,” Conrad said in the letter to employees.

“There’s a tremendous amount of work in front of us, including what I’m sure will be some very challenging moments, decisions, and trade-offs, but I’m energized by the passion I see all around me for doing right by our customers and getting back to the innovation that is at the heart of Sonos’ incredible history.”

As discussed in the company’s statement, the app issues did not deter Sonos from releasing new products in 2024, including the Era 100 Pro, Arc Ultra Soundbar and Ace Headphones.

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