Sonos’ interim CEO hits all the right notes in first letter to employees

Tom Conrad, a longtime veteran of the tech industry who joined Sonos’ board of directors in 2017, has been appointed interim CEO following today’s ouster of Patrick Spence. And in his first letter as the (temporary) new boss, Conrad hits on a number of things that will likely be music to the ears of rank-and-file Sonos employees.

“I’ve heard from many of you about your own frustrations about how far we’ve drifted from our shared ideals,” he says in the letter. “There’s a tremendous amount of work in front of us, including what I’m sure will be some very challenging moments, decisions, and trade-offs, but I’m energized by the passion I see all around me for doing right by our customers and getting back to the innovation that is at the heart of Sonos’ incredible history.”

Conrad says he has already relocated to Santa Barbara — where Sonos is headquartered — and will be in the office daily as he works to reenergize employees after an ordeal that has cratered morale. “I think we’ll all agree that this year we’ve let far too many people down. As we’ve seen, getting some important things right (Arc Ultra and Ace are remarkable products!) is just not enough when our customers’ alarms don’t go off, their kids can’t hear their playlist during breakfast, their surrounds don’t fire, or they can’t pause the music in time to answer the buzzing doorbell.”

In a separate letter to employees, Sonos board chair Julius Genachowski said, “Tom’s mandate is to improve the Sonos core experience for our customers, while optimizing our business to drive innovation and financial performance,” and he noted that Conrad has left his job as CEO of Zero Longevity Science to give his full attention to Sonos. Perhaps the interim pick already has an eye on making this appointment more permanent.

Below is Conrad’s full letter to employees:

Team,

Nearly 18 years ago, in May of 2007, I stepped onto the stage at SFMOMA to launch Pandora for Sonos to an audience of tech journalists. I was 37 years old and my love of Sonos was in its earliest days. Over the decade that immediately followed, and through many ups and downs, we built Pandora into a streaming phenomenon. In those same years Sonos became the most beloved way to enjoy music throughout my home and millions of others.

Eight years ago, I was honored to be asked to join the Sonos board. Five months ago, as the team worked through the app recovery, I was lucky enough to get to know a wider swath of you personally – and to see firsthand your dedication to setting things right.

Last week, I was asked to step in as interim CEO.

Perhaps the most important thing for you to know today is that I’m here because I love this company, this product family and this brand. For nearly two decades, I’ve listened to music throughout my home on Sonos every day. In the last decade, I’ve binged every streaming phenomenon with dazzling surround from our Sonos soundbars. In recent years and when I was traveling, it was a Sonos Roam that made its way into my backpack. These days, every night I’m careful not to wake my sleeping family by watching audio-swapped television on my Sonos Ace.

I know as well as anyone the incredible power of what we can do. A Sonos Move was playing in the delivery room when my daughter (11 months just last week!) was born. Sonos provides a similar soundtrack for millions of lives throughout the world every single day. When it all works, it’s absolute magic.

It’s also true that when it doesn’t work, our customers are taken out of the moment and are right to feel that we’ve let them down. I think we’ll all agree that this year we’ve let far too many people down. As we’ve seen, getting some important things right (Arc Ultra and Ace are remarkable products!) is just not enough when our customers’ alarms don’t go off, their kids can’t hear their playlist during breakfast, their surrounds don’t fire, or they can’t pause the music in time to answer the buzzing doorbell.

I’m here to get us back on track. But is getting back on track enough?

I think the answer is clearly no. Getting back to basics is necessary, but clearly not enough to unlock the future we all envision for Sonos. So as delighted as I’ll be when every Sonos customer I meet tells me “You work at Sonos!? I love my Sonos!”, what really gets me up in the morning is the idea that we can expand the Sonos platform well beyond “out loud audio at home.”

I’ve heard from many of you about your own frustrations about how far we’ve drifted from our shared ideals. There’s a tremendous amount of work in front of us, including what I’m sure will be some very challenging moments, decisions, and trade-offs, but I’m energized by the passion I see all around me for doing right by our customers and getting back to the innovation that is at the heart of Sonos’ incredible history.

While I’m here today as “interim” CEO, please make no mistake: I’m here to move us forward. This is not a time for Sonos to be stuck in limbo. I’ve relocated to Santa Barbara and my family will join me here shortly. I’m in the office today and for as long as the job is mine. I’m counting on your help in making today the first day in our collective future. I’ll greet you all live tomorrow (see calendars for the meeting invite). It will be recorded and shared with those who aren’t able to attend. I’ll also be visiting our offices outside of California in the coming weeks. I can’t wait to meet all of you and start building towards a new chapter for Sonos.

Onward!

Tom

PS: As you get to know me in the coming weeks and months, you’ll find that I have many of the clichéd interests of an aging technology hipster, including an arm full of tattoos (see also: “Can I tell you about my interest in light roast espresso, vinyl records and Leica photography?”). While all of this rightfully might inspire some eye rolls (including from my wife), I hope it will make at least some of you smile to know that my most prominent tattoo is a pair of Sonos Ace on my left forearm.