Sonos CEO Patrick Spence falls on his sword after horrible app launch

Sonos CEO Patrick Spence is stepping down from the company after eight years, following a disastrous app launch that was missing core features and had numerous bugs. The company has appointed Tom Conrad as interim CEO, who is a current member of the Sonos board and has a background as a co-founder of Pandora and product chief at Quibi. Conrad has written to employees stating that the company needs to get back to basics but also expand beyond home speakers and related gear. The board has hired a firm to find a new long-term leader for the company. Spence will receive a payout package including $7,500 per month until June, a cash severance of $1.9 million, and his unvested shares in Sonos will vest. The decision to swap leadership comes after months of turmoil at the company, including a mobile app rollout that was rife with bugs and missing key features. The company has tried to win back customer trust by extending the manufacturer warranty for home speaker products and creating an advisory board to provide feedback and insights. Despite these efforts, the company's stock price has fallen by around 13 percent since the app launched, and Sonos laid off over 100 people in August. The company's revenue fell 16 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, and analysts project an additional 15 percent decline throughout the holiday period. Overall, the company is looking to move forward and recover from the recent setbacks under new leadership, with Conrad at the helm for the time being.