After an app update rollout that can best be described as disastrous, Sonos is seeking a new CEO. The company announced today that Patrick Spence, who had been CEO for eight years, is stepping down.
In its announcement, Sonos said its board of directors and Spence “agreed” on the decision while saying it was unrelated to the company’s fiscal Q1 2025 earnings, which it will report next month.
Spence joined Sonos as chief commercial officer in 2012 after leaving Blackberry. Under his tenure, Sonos branched into new categories, including portable speakers and spatial audio. But in May, Sonos issued an app update that broke basic and critical features. Sonos employees said the update was built on outdated code and infrastructure, impacting users’ ability to do things like access and manage local libraries, set sleep timers, and edit song queues and playlists.
The employees also said the app was rushed so that it could be ready in time for Sonos’ first wireless headphones, Ace. In July, following much public backlash, Spence apologized and promised regular updates until the new app was as good as the old app. But even today, users are still reporting problems with the software.
In August, Spence said Sonos would spend $20 million to $30 million “in the short term” to fix the app. Soon after, Sonos laid off 100 people. Sonos’ stock price declined approximately 13 percent since the app update, Bloomberg noted. Sonos execs, including Spence, received a $72,000 bonus in 2023 but did not get bonuses for the fiscal year that ended on September 30.
Spence will receive a cash severance of $1,875,000, per SEC filings. He will also get $7,500 per month and serve as a Sonos board advisor until June, and his unvested shares will vest.
Tom Conrad, who has been on Sonos’ board since 2017, took the role of interim CEO today. Sonos plans on having a new CEO by February via the help of a third-party firm. In the meantime, Conrad will get $175,000 per month and receive $2.65 million in stock shares.