Sonos has added to its board of directors Hugo Barra, a season tech executive with an extensive background in software, as the company continues to right the ship and improve the user experience of its app.
Barra has held leadership positions at several high-profile companies throughout his career, including Google, Meta (formerly Facebook), Xiaomi, and more. He is also the co-founder and head of product at /dev/agents, a software company building an operating system for AI agents. He replaces Mike Volpi, Sonos’ longest-serving director, who resigned simultaneous to Barra’s appointment.
Barra’s Impressive Journey Includes Tenure at Oculus
Barra founded /dev/agents just a few months ago, operating out of San Francisco, according to his public LinkedIn profile. Before that, he was co-founder and CEO at Detect, a biotech startup working on “ultra low-cost molecular diagnostics.”
Perhaps more importantly, Barra’s resume boasts leadership stinks working on the Oculus VR team at Meta, which eventually became Meta Quest. While there, Barra was the vice president of VR.
He was also the global VP at Xiaomi, a Chinese consumer tech giant where he oversaw the company’s smartphone expansion and helped it become the world’s third-largest smartphone maker.
Continuing on with Barra’s impressive resume, he also had a stint as the vice president of Android product management at Google, leading the early days of the Android ecosystem through its first billion users.
In a statement, Julius Genachowski, Chair of the Sonos board, touts Barra’s software expertise, including in AI.
“Hugo is a world-class technologist with senior executive experience at several of the most important and successful consumer tech companies,” Genachowski said in an announcement. “He has a proven ability to turn cutting-edge innovation into great products – a great fit for Sonos. With his deep expertise, including in AI, we’re excited to have him on the Board, engaging with the leadership team and adding value.”
How Barra Can Help Sonos
Nearly a year ago, Sonos rolled out a comprehensive update to its app that essentially broke core functionality and led to mountains of criticism, and ultimately the ousting of its CEO and other key executives. The company has been laser-focused on improving its app and the company’s public image, which also included cancelling a planned streaming box.
Barra’s appointment could be yet another example, and the company could lean on his extensive experience in consumer technology and cutting-edge innovation.
According to Barra’s statement in the announcement, he’s very familiar with the company and its products.
“It’s an honor to join the Sonos Board,” Mr. Barra said in a statement. “This is a company which makes delightful products that have brought me and my family many thousands of hours of joy over the years. I look forward to working with the team and focusing on the large opportunities ahead.”
