Jordan O'BrienNest is still going through somewhat of an unstable phase, with the company now announcing that its CEO, Marwan Fawaz, will be stepping down from the company. This comes amid further restructuring of the smart home manufacturer, which will see the Nest team merged with the Google home devices unit.
Fawaz was never going to have an easy time at Nest, after all the firm still owed much of its success to former Apple executive Tony Fadell. Having helped Apple develop the iPod, Fadell’s Nest Labs revolutionised the thermostat market with one that could learn its user’s habits and switch off the heating when the house is empty. Seven years after the launch of the first Nest Learning Thermostat, the product continues to be the company’s flagship product.
Since Fadell’s departure from the company, Nest has begun branching out into other smart home sectors. Fawaz has successfully steered the company into being more than just a thermostat manufacturer, with the firm now being known for products such as the Nest Hello doorbell and Nest Secure security system.
Unlike the shock of Fadell’s departure, Fawaz’s exit won’t affect the company too much. The former CEO will remain on Google’s payroll as an advisor, while Google further integrates the Nest product line-up into its overall smart home strategy. It’s clear that the smart home is gearing up to be a major battleground, and with Amazon having recently acquired Ring, Google will be wanting to push Nest into releasing more products into the marketplace to compete.
Under the new restructure, Nest’s team will report directly to Rishi Chandra, the vice president of product management for Google’s home and living room products. Chandra has already confirmed that Google wants to ensure that its smart home line-up begin working better together, something users have been begging for. The search engine giant’s smart home strategy has often become confused with competing technologies, with Nest and Google having both developed different ecosystems in the past. Hopefully those days are gone.
Leadership Change Needed
Despite Fawaz’s resignation, there have been reports that the CEO could have been pushed. According to CNET, employees supposedly complained about Nest’s CEO and pushed for a leadership change. It has been reported that Fawaz was more of an operations manager than a leader, and many employees preferred the option of putting Chandra in charge.
It’s not been easy for Fawaz, however. The CEO had big boots to fill, with Fadell having been seen as a visionary, while Fawaz was focused on making the business streamline. Both CEOs had their problems, with Fadell being noted for delaying products until they were absolutely perfect, meaning Nest’s release cycle was slow, while Fawaz had the opposite problem – pushing teams to release mediocre devices that didn’t exactly set the smart home industry alight.