@jafant
As mentioned in Stereophile, Kathy Gornik sold to VC interests led by CEO Bill Thomas. Bill was succeeded by John Wittman, who was replaced this year by Thomas Malatesta(reportedly from Proctor & Gamble.) The current designs were done by Mark Mason(formerly of PSB), who is no longer on board. Ouch! It appears that at least final assembly is done in Nashville.
Googling Mr. Malatesta, it appears that he is an investor and founder of a number of start-ups in audio streaming, smart phone, and cybersecurity technologies. With respect to Thiel, it's possible that he was taken on as a turnaround specialist.