Google Nest Chief Fadell Steps Down
Tony Fadell is stepping down as head of Nest Labs, just over two years after selling the smart-home gadget maker to Google. Fadell will leave Nest immediately and be replaced by Marwan Fawaz, former executive vice president of Motorola Mobility where he served as CEO of Motorola Home, Nest said in a statement.
Google purchased Nest in 2014 for $3.2 billion. The deal brought in a proven technology hardware executive to help the internet giant design better devices and integrate its web services into people’s homes.
In early 2015, Fadell took on responsibility for hardware projects beyond Nest, such as the troubled Glass wearable computing effort.
But Nest took longer than expected to release new hardware products and a smoke and carbon monoxide detector was recalled due to software problems. In 2015, Nest released the Nest Cam security camera, which did not sale well.
Alphabet’s Larry Page said in a statement he was confident Marwan Fawaz can 'deepen Nest’s partnerships, expand within enterprise channels, and bring Nest products to even more homes."
Nest said its third-generation thermostat, introduced in September, reached 1 million units sold in half the time as the previous model.