How Sonos rebooted itself

My guest today is Sonos CEO Tom Conrad. Tom was on the board at Sonos during the disastrous 2024 app redesign that threatened to crash the entire brand, and he took over as interim CEO to right the ship during that period. About a year ago, he took the permanent role. 

I have been dying to have Tom on the show to talk about how the board decided to move on from previous CEO Patrick Spence, how he diagnosed the issues inside the company, and what decisions he made to fix them. Plus. Tom was willing to get into the weeds and nerd out with me, and I think this one is pretty fun because of it.

Read the full interview transcript on The Verge.

Links: 

• After two years of turmoil, Sonos attempts a triumphant return | The Verge
• How Sonos’ Tom Conrad Is reshaping the brand after app disaster | Bloomberg
• An in-depth interview with Sonos interim CEO Tom Conrad | The Verge (2025)
• Sonos’ smart assistant is expanding from music to home control | The Verge
• Inside Sonos’ decision to sue Google — and how it won | Decoder (2022)

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Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Decoder is produced by Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. 

The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

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