The scandal with the new Sonos app, which turned out to be crude and did not live up to user expectations, has already led to the resignation of the audio device maker’s CEO Patrick Spence. Now it has become known that Sonos product director Maxime Bouvat-Merlin will also leave the company.
Maxime Bouvat-Merlin / Image source: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
Bouvat-Merlin, who has served as Sonos’ chief product officer since 2023, will remain an advisor to Tom Conrad, who sits on the board and was named interim CEO following Spence’s departure. Conrad’s first major step after taking over at Sonos was to abolish the position of chief product officer, a responsibilities he took on himself. Official representatives of the company have not yet commented on this issue.
Bouvat-Merlin joined Sonos in 2016 as director of hardware. Prior to receiving the position of Chief Product Officer, he also served for some time as the company’s Chief Operating Officer.
«After I became CEO, the board, Max and I agreed that my experience made the Chief Product Officer title redundant. Therefore, Max’s position will be abolished, and his unit will report directly to me. I have asked Max to advise me over the next period to ensure a smooth transition, and I am grateful that he has agreed to do so,” Conrad said in an email to Sonos employees.
Conrad himself managed to work in the field of product development and design in several technology companies. At various times, he served as chief product officer at Quibi, vice president of product at Snap Inc., and chief technology officer at Pandora Media.