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Matt Mullenweg Returns as CEO of Automattic After Board Ouster
Confirmed
In Short: Automattic has confirmed that Matt Mullenweg is back as CEO after being ousted by the board, with CFO Mark Davies stepping in as interim CEO.
Automattic has confirmed that Matt Mullenweg is back as CEO, with full support of the board, according to a statement first reported by CMSWire. The company's CFO, Mark Davies, will lead the company as interim CEO during Mullenweg's leave of absence.
Disputes and tensions within the company have been evident, with Mullenweg accusing board members of conspiring against him and posting about 'coup' attempts on Automattic's Slack. Mullenweg's return was confirmed by an Automattic spokesperson, who stated that Mullenweg is currently on leave and Davies is interim CEO.
Sources tell TechCrunch that Mullenweg posted on Slack, 'I’m a pirate now' and cursed, a move that is reportedly not in line with his usual behavior. Mullenweg also promised a blog post about his reinstatement, which he has yet to publish.
Despite the board's decision to put Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence, he has been reinstated as CEO, according to a Slack message seen by TechCrunch. Mullenweg's return comes after a week of turmoil and internal strife within the company.
What's confirmed
- "Matt Mullenweg is the chairman and CEO of Automattic, with full support of the board," Automattic spokesperson Megan Fox shared with CMSWire in an email Saturday, Sept.
- Mark Davies, Automattic’s CFO, will lead the company as interim CEO.
What's still developing
- Disrupt 2026: OpenAI, Anthropic, Replit, and more take over 6 industry stages. 25% off tickets now Back by popular demand: Save up to $300 on Disrupt After a tumultuous week, which saw WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg ousted from his position as CEO of Automattic, WordPress.com’s parent company, by way of a board vote, the company has now issued a statement confirming that Mullenweg has returned to his position.
- Seemingly declining to depart, Mullenweg booted other admins out of the company Slack and told employees everything had been worked out and that he was back in control of Automattic, multiple sources told TechCrunch.
- (The mention of online support appears to refer to supportive posts on X that Mullenweg has been reposting from his X account.) Automattic’s board had voted earlier this week to put Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence for unknown reasons.
- Schneider, a founding CEO of Automattic, now leads Bluesky.
- Mullenweg also published a blog post on Friday titled “Major Life Announcement” about making an offer to buy a houseboat.