Sonos Secures Software and D&I Leaders

On Wednesday, Sonos announced Rebecca Zavin as its new SVP of Software. She will join the company alongside Shamayne Braman, who joins as audio technology company’s Chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer.

Braman and Zavin join the Santa Barbara-based tech company known for its high-fidelity wireless speakers from Minnesota and San Francisco, respectively.

Zavin brings a deep background in software engineering and comes to Sonos from Palo Alto Networks, where she served as VP of Software Engineering. Before that, she was the CTO at Essential, a now-defunct smartphone startup, and spent a decade in Android and robotics roles at Google.

Her new role at Sonos comes as the company continues to focus on its software as a way to make its hardware stand out in a crowded market. “Our software and consumer experience continues to differentiate our products,” CFO Brittany Bagley stated in the company’s most recent earnings call.

Right away, Zavin will work on the expansion of the software behind the company's sleep mode, which will reduce power consumption when a device is idle. The feature is available on just one speaker model, but Sonos aims to have it available on all speakers by 2023. The move is part of a greater focus on creating greener products by improving energy efficiency and using recycled components.

“Software is the connecting thread that binds premium sound, an easy experience, and connects you to all the content you love,” said Sonos CEO Patrick Spence. “We are thrilled to welcome Rebecca at a pivotal moment for Sonos, to scale the software organization for our next phase of growth and accelerate innovation as we continue to expand our range of products and services for the home and push further beyond.”