Sonos exodus: Two more high-ranking managers quit

Sonos is having a turbulent start to the new year: Following the announced departure of CEO Patrick Spence, two other high-ranking managers will be leaving the company, reports The Verge. Head of Product Maxime Bouvat-Merlin and Chief Commercial Officer Deirdre Findlay will be leaving their jobs in the coming weeks.

According to the report by The Verge, interim CEO Tom Conrad informed the workforce by email about the departure of Head of Product Maxime Bouvat-Merlin. His position had become superfluous. The situation is somewhat more complicated for CCO Deirdre Findlay: Conrad wrote in a separate email that she wanted to relocate for personal reasons. However, this had been planned for some time. She has not yet officially resigned from her position.

Failed new app

At least the resignations of CEO Patrick Spence and Head of Product Maxime Bouvat-Merlin are connected to the release of a new Sonos app last May, which was perceived by many users as a poor improvement. The app disappointed users with its lack of features and bugs. Both managers are said to be responsible for the unsuccessful market launch.

The anger among users was so great that Sonos had to spend months trying to make amends. This initially took place during a forum Q&A session in which some Sonos employees answered critical questions from the community and promised improvements. Finally, CEO Patrick Spence also answered questions and presented a seven-point plan to win back the trust of the community.

Among other things, Sonos promised stricter quality controls and the appointment of a “quality ombudsman”. Like many other tech companies, Sonos also cut jobs last year, with around 100 employees having to leave the company.

(dahe)