Sonos' CEO has resigned. Patrick Spence has stepped down with immediate effect (The Verge reports), eight months after the disastrous Sonos app relaunch angered customers.
May 2024 saw Sonos relaunch its mobile app to accommodate the Sonos Ace, its first pair of wireless headphones. The redesign introduced numerous bugs while also culling much-used features like timers and the ability to make a playlist. Customer ire duly exploded on forums all over the web. Spence inflamed the situation by initially defending the update as a "better experience".
Sonos has since been making huge efforts to fix the app. In October, it published a seven-step plan to win back trust. Critics claimed many of these were common sense points that should already have been implemented, like more stringent testing, an "unwavering commitment focus on customer experience" and listening and responding to customer feedback.
The board also vowed not to take a bonus "unless the company succeeds in improving the quality of the app experience and rebuilding customer trust". Which prompted criticism that the firm was marking its own homework.
And now the CEO has resigned. “We’re going to initiate a search for the next CEO, and we’ll work on finding a leader who’s going to continue to build on our legacy and work with the team to move the company forward,” Sonos spokesperson Erin Pategas told The Verge. She described the move as "turning a page on the chapter that we’re in".
Sonos will certainly want to put the last year behind it. The product that the app was redesigned for – the Ace headphones – wasn't even very good, earning three stars from us. They were joined by the Sonos Roam 2, another three-star product. At least the firm ended the year on a better note, with the five-star Arc Ultra soundbar.
The app debacle reportedly forced the firm to delay two upcoming product launches, including its first streaming box to compete with the Apple TV 4K and Amazon Fire TV Stick.
Despite its tribulations, Sonos will stick with the new app, and continue to improve its functionality.
Spence joined Sonos in 2012 as chief commercial officer. His reign saw plenty of excellent products, including the original Award-winning Arc soundbar, Era 300 spatial audio speaker and the Move and Roam lines of portables.
Spence will remain as an advisor to Sonos until 30th June. Board member Tom Conrad will take the role of interim CEO until a replacement is found.
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