Sonos: Tom Conrad remains CEO

Tom Conrad remains Sonos CEO: The manager appointed as interim CEO in January will continue to lead the fortunes of the US audio company, Sonos announced. Conrad was appointed after Patrick Spence resigned following the unsuccessful launch of the new Sonos app.

"Over the past six months, Tom has earned the trust of our employees, customers, partners and shareholders," said Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, explaining Conrad's appointment. "We are excited to see what the next chapter of Sonos holds for all our stakeholders."

Conrad was already active on the Sonos Supervisory Board before his appointment as CEO. He will continue to hold this position. Conrad previously worked at Apple, Snapchat and Pandora, among others.

App debacle

Sonos released a completely new app for its networked audio devices last May. However, the app disappointed users with its lack of features and bugs. Users were so angry about the app that Sonos had to spend months trying to make amends.

There were forum Q&A sessions, public apologies from the CEO and a meticulously documented catalog of measures to avoid such errors in the future. In it, Sonos promised stricter quality controls and the appointment of a "quality ombudsman".

Ultimately, the app debacle contributed significantly to redundancies at Sonos, with Spence and other high-ranking managers leaving the company. Tom Conrad is now to lead the audio company back to success. "Since the beginning of the year, we have regained clarity, focus and momentum at Sonos," said Conrad. "We are only at the beginning. The opportunities available to us are enormous."

(dahe)