Sonos CEO Patrick Spence has stepped down from his position following a troubled period marked by problematic app updates. The company's board member Tom Conrad will serve as interim CEO while a search for a permanent replacement is conducted.

The leadership change comes after a controversial app overhaul in May that removed several key features, sparking widespread customer complaints. Despite Sonos promising fixes by June, the issues persisted, damaging customer trust and affecting sales of new products, including the Sonos Ace headphones.

In his first communication to employees, interim CEO Tom Conrad acknowledged the company's recent struggles. "This year we've let far too many people down," Conrad stated in an internal letter. He emphasized that despite successful product launches like Arc Ultra and Ace, basic functionality issues have undermined customer experience.

The Sonos board has enlisted a leading executive search firm to find a new CEO who can restore the company's reputation for innovation while maintaining profitable growth. Conrad, who met with the Sonos app team five months ago, has committed to addressing the technical issues and rebuilding customer trust.

The transition comes at a crucial time for Sonos as it works to resolve ongoing app problems affecting basic features like alarms, playback controls, and surround sound functionality. Conrad's immediate focus will be on rectifying these technical issues while maintaining the company's product innovation momentum.

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