Sonos Shakes Up Leadership After Disastrous App Launch: CPO Departure Signals New Era of Accountability

Sonos Shakes Up Leadership After Disastrous App Launch: CPO Departure Signals New Era of Accountability

Sonos continues its efforts to recover from a tumultuous period, announcing the departure of Chief Product Officer Maxime Bouvat-Merlin. This move comes a day after CEO Patrick Spence stepped down, following widespread criticism over the company's botched mobile app release earlier this year. The new app, launched in May 2024, was met with a barrage of complaints from users, plagued by bugs, glitches, and a significant decline in performance. Reports surfaced that engineers and testers had repeatedly warned executives about the app's instability, but these concerns were largely ignored, leading to a public relations disaster for Sonos. Interim CEO Tom Conrad, in an email to employees, stated that the CPO position is no longer necessary, effectively eliminating Bouvat-Merlin's role. Conrad acknowledged Bouvat-Merlin's contributions to the development of several successful Sonos products, including the Sonos One, Beam, Move, Ace, Arc, and Arc Ultra. "Max's tenure r…