Two top Nest sales leads are out the door

Two top sales leads at Nest have left the company, as the connected device maker, a unit of Google parent Alphabet, continues to grapple for sure footing.

Ross Lipari, the head of sales for the Americas, and one of his deputies, Brian Feiro, both departed this week, Recode has learned. Sources say they were ousted.

A Nest rep declined to comment. I sent notes to Lipari and Feiro, but have yet to hear back.

Nest fell short of sales targets last year that were set when Google acquired the startup in 2014, as Recode reported earlier. Part of the reason is slower than expected growth in smart home devices; part of it comes from Nest's internal drama.

But CEO Tony Fadell told Google employees last month that Nest was set to hit revenue targets for the first quarter. (Alphabet does not break out sales for each of its "Other Bets" companies, which includes Nest.)

The company, which sells three connected devices, has faced criticism for a dearth of new products. Recently the company has plowed resources into software, focusing on efforts — like its bid to build out a uniform, open networking protocol — to boost the nascent smart home industry and ensure that more devices connect to Nest products.

Lipari joined Nest in October of 2014, and Feiro, who led channel marketing for retail sales, joined the following year. Both came from from MillerCoors, the beer producer.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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