Sonos Appoints Hugo Barra to Board of Directors Amid App Troubles, Mike Volpi Steps Down

Sonos has appointed Hugo Barra, the co-founder AI software company /dev/agents, to its Board of Directors, while the audio company works to resolve ongoing issues with its mobile app.

Sonos has also announced the departure of Mike Volpi, its longest-serving board member, who is stepping down after 15 years.

Barra’s career spans significant roles at major tech companies. Prior to his current role at /dev/agents, the Brazilian was the co-founder and CEO of Detect, a biotech startup focused on affordable molecular diagnostics.

Barra also served as Vice President of Oculus at Meta, overseeing the company’s virtual reality division, and as Vice President of Global Operations at Xiaomi, where he helped the company become the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. Barra’s also worked at Google where he led the Android product management team from its early days to over a billion users.

Hugo Barra

Julius Genachowski, Chair of the Sonos Board, said: “Hugo is a world-class technologist with senior executive experience at several of the most important and successful consumer tech companies. His deep expertise, particularly in AI, makes him a great fit for Sonos as we continue to evolve.”

Meanwhile, Genachowski praised Volpi’s expertise in both early-stage investments and scaling successful companies: “Mike’s contributions over his 15 years as a director of Sonos have been enormous, and we are deeply grateful for his dedicated service.”

Barra’s appointment comes at a time when Sonos is focused on recovering from a series of challenges, including recent issues with its mobile app.

The company says it is working to improve performance and address bugs while continuing to innovate with new products. As part of its strategic shift, Sonos recently canceled its upcoming streaming video player, Pinewood, and is focusing on new projects, including a dedicated audio-video receiver and a follow-up to its Era 100 smart speaker.

Internal sources suggest that morale at Sonos has improved in recent months, with interim CEO Tom Conrad driving efforts to reset the company’s leadership and refine its product strategy. Continued updates to the Sonos app are expected in the following months.