Just days after former CEO Patrick Spence resigned, Sonos‘ interim CEO says the company’s chief product officer is also leaving the company, according to reports.
As reported by The Verge, Chief Product Officer Maxime Bouvat-Merlin’s role is being eliminated from the company, and he will transition into an advisor role to interim CEO Thomas Conrad. In an email to employees, Conrad called the chief product officer role “redundant.”
According to Conrad, Bouvine-Merlin oversaw the release of several popular Sonos products, including the Sonos One, Beam, Move, Ace, Arc and Arc Ultra, “establishing Sonos as the world leader in home theater audio and setting the foundation for our next chapter.”
As per Conrad’s email, obtained by The Verge, the product team will now report directly to Conrad. However, Bouvine-Merlin has agreed to advise Conrad in the interim “to ensure a smooth transition,” Conrad wrote.
News of Bouvine-Merlin’s departure had apparently been leaked outside of the organization after Conrad informed company leaders, forcing Conrad to send the email to employees.
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“While this is frustrating for all of us, I will not let the possibility of a leak change our ability to communicate openly with one another. So I’m going to keep telling you the truth. I know this is a lot of change to absorb in two days and I want to thank you for your resilience, continued commitment to Sonos and support of each other during this time,” Conrad wrote, according to The Verge.
Conrad took over for former CEO Spence, who resigned earlier this week in the wake of a 2024 marked by the rollout of a new mobile app that didn’t live up to Sonos standards, to say the least. 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.
Conrad, an independent board member, took over the helm of Sonos upon Spence’s departure. He has a background leading product strategy and has held leadership positions with Pandora, Snapchat, Quibi and other tech companies. He holds the interim role while Sonos’ board begins a search for a permanent replacement.
These moves signal an upcoming period of significant change for Sonos, which now looks to get back on track both functionally and financially. 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 and pledge to undertake a host of new quality control measures.
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