Brian Wallace's profile on Essential's website. Essential Essential, the startup helmed by Android creator Andy Rubin, has lost one of its top executives, just over a month after it announced its first major product.



Brian Wallace, Essential’s VP of marketing, has left the company, he confirmed to Business Insider on Friday.Wallace is now CMO at i.am+, a "connected lifestyle" company founded by musician will.i.am.

Wallace's move is the latest sign of turmoil at Essential. Wallace joined Essential in December after running marketing for the augmented reality startup Magic Leap. Before that, he worked at Samsung and helped put together the iconic “Next Big Thing” campaign that propelled Samsung’s mobile business in the US.

Wallace isn’t the only major departure at Essential. Andy Fouché, who is listed as the company’s head of communications on its website, left recently as well, he told Business Insider in an email last month. However, Fouché also described himself as an advisor to the company. He also worked with Wallace as the head of communications at Magic Leap. Kenzo Hing, Essential’s head of product marketing, will be running communications in the meantime.

Hing did not respond to multiple requests for comment.



The departures are not a good look for Essential. (Is it ever a good sign when PR and marketing executives jump ship before a company even launches a product?) The company announced its new phone, simply called Phone, last month. But there were immediate questions as to how the $700 device could compete in a high-end smartphone market dominated by Apple and Samsung.