Sonos: Change of leadership after app debacle

In a reorganisation, speaker manufacturer Sonos has dismissed both its CEO Patrick Spence and, shortly afterwards, its head of product Maxime Bouvat-Merlin. These personnel changes follow a disastrous app update that was released in May 2024 and led to massive criticism from users.

Background of the app debacle

The revised version of Sonos' app was plagued by numerous bugs and missing functions right from the start. Users reported that basic functions such as browsing music libraries, setting sleep timers and even downloading the app were not possible. These problems led to a significant loss of trust among customers and affected the company's sales figures in the following months.

Patrick Spence, who had been CEO since 2017, admitted mistakes in the launch of the new app in October 2024 and waived his bonus payments along with seven other team leaders. Despite these measures and the announcement of a comprehensive action plan to rectify the problems, customer confidence could not be restored.

The company's shares have fallen by more than 13 per cent since the app update was introduced and Sonos predicted a drop in sales of up to 22 per cent in the first quarter of 2025. In the fourth quarter of the last financial year alone, Sonos reportedly recorded a 16 per cent drop in sales.

The company put the cost of fixing the problems with the app alone at between 20 and 30 million US dollars.

Dismissal of Patrick Spence and Maxime Bouvat-Merlin

On 13 January 2025, Sonos announced that Patrick Spence was stepping down as CEO. He will receive a severance payment of USD 1.875 million. Until June 2025, Spence will continue to work as an advisor to the Sonos board and will receive USD 7,500 per month, reports Ars Technica, citing SEC filings.

Instead, the company appointed Tom Conrad, a member of the board and former CEO of Zero Longevity Science, as interim CEO. A new CEO is to be found by February. This was followed a day later by the announcement that Maxime Bouvat-Merlin, Head of Product, would also be leaving the company.

Internal sources report, according to The Verge, that Bouvat-Merlin was largely responsible for the decision to release the flawed app version at a time when numerous bugs were still present. This decision was made in order to make the app available in time for the launch of Sonos' first wireless headphones in June 2024. The chaotic reorganisation and inadequate response to customer complaints further contributed to the company's loss of reputation.