Tom Conrad Named Permanent CEO as Sonos Promises Fresh Start

Tom Conrad Named Permanent CEO as Sonos Promises Fresh Start
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Tom Conrad becomes Sonos’ permanent CEO, pledging to rebuild trust and reinvent the brand after its troubled app overhaul.

Sonos has officially named Tom Conrad as its permanent CEO, the company confirmed on Wednesday. Conrad stepped in as interim chief executive back in January after the company’s troubled app overhaul last May prompted former CEO Patrick Spence to step down.

A familiar face at Sonos, Conrad has served on the company’s board since 2017 and previously held the role of chief product officer at the now-defunct streaming platform Quibi. With this new chapter, Conrad says he’s committed to “imagining the next generation of experiences” at Sonos—an ambition he shared during an interview earlier this year.

The major app redesign that sparked customer backlash introduced a slew of bugs and removed key features that longtime users valued. Since then, Sonos has been working to regain trust, rolling out several updates to restore functionality and fix issues.

Under Conrad’s interim leadership, Sonos laid off about 200 employees as part of a move to streamline operations into “flatter, smaller, and more focused teams.” The company also ended its partnership with Ikea on the popular Symfonisk speakers line. In March, Sonos ramped up efforts to fix lingering app complaints and rolled out significant software improvements for its Ace wireless headphones and Arc soundbar, signalling a clear push to win back customers.

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