Fahri Diner out as Plume's CEOFahri Diner out as Plume's CEO

There's been a big change at the top of Plume Design, a Wi-Fi tech specialist that works with more than 600 communications service providers, including telcos and cable operators.

Fahri Diner, one of Plume's founders, is no longer leading the company, a Plume official confirmed to Light Reading. Adam Hotchkiss, a co-founder of the company who is credited as one of the architects of Plume's cloud-based services platform, now serves as acting CEO as the company seeks a permanent replacement. Hotchkiss has served in a range of roles at Plume, including general manager of the company's business-to-business unit and in product and sales engineering roles.

Former CEO Fahri Diner is also a Plume founder. (Source: Plume)

"Fahri Diner will no longer be the leading the business," Plume said in a statement. "We are grateful for all of his contributions and wish him well. Adam Hotchkiss, one of the company's original founders, will lead as acting CEO until further notice."

Plume confirmed that it recently announced news of the leadership change to its partners and customers.

There's already speculation that Hotchkiss might end up staying in the CEO role. "I think it's important for them to have continuity," a person familiar with Plume's business said. "I wouldn't be surprised if they stay with him."

Adam Hotchkiss, another Plume founder, is serving as the company's acting CEO. (Source: Plume)

Plume did not offer a reason for Diner's departure. Multiple industry sources say his exit came at the direction of the Plume board of directors.

Diner, who is described as a "hard-driving CEO" by a person familiar with his management style, has been asked for comment. Several reviews of Plume's leadership posted on Glassdoor are less than flattering. At last check, Diner's LinkedIn profile shows that he was in the CEO role through November 2024.

Pressure from investors?

Under Diner, Plume has expanded its service footprint to about 4 billion connected devices across more than 60 million locations. Its most recent major win was with J:COM, Japan's largest cable operator. The bulk of Plume's business is based on recurring revenues for Wi-Fi management services for homes and businesses.

Plume, which introduced its open-source OpenSync framework in 2018, is not in the device-making business. But its designs have been manufactured by various partners over the years. Comcast's Wi-Fi pods, for example, have roots with Plume hardware designs.

Plume, which counts Airties among its competitors, has also raised gobs of funding. In the fall of 2021, Plume announced a $300 million "F" round led by Japan's SoftBank Vision Fund 2 that extended its total funding to nearly $700 million. At the time, Plume had about 500 employees and had visions of doubling it as it pursued a global growth plan focused on organic business and potential M&A.

Multiple sources have speculated that Plume could be facing pressure from some of its investors.

Privately held Plume does not release revenues and other types of quarterly financial data. A person familiar with the company said Plume, like many other suppliers, has faced a challenging 2024.