Automattic Reinstates Matt Mullenweg as CEO Following Board's Failed Ouster Attempt
After a week of turmoil that saw WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg removed from his role as CEO of Automattic—the parent company of WordPress.com—by a board vote, the company has now confirmed his return to the position.
"Matt Mullenweg is the chairman and CEO of Automattic, with full support of the board, and if you search online you can see many top executives and Automatticians supporting him as well," a company spokesperson told TechCrunch via email on Saturday evening, shortly after 5 PM ET. The mention of online support appears to refer to supportive posts on X that Mullenweg has been reposting from his account.
Board's Surprise Move and Immediate Backlash
Earlier in the week, Automattic's board voted to place Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence for undisclosed reasons. The move seemingly caught Mullenweg off guard, prompting him to post on Automattic's Slack, accusing board members of "conspiring" against him.
On Wednesday, Automattic confirmed the removal to TechCrunch, stating that Mullenweg was "currently on leave" and that CFO Mark Davies would serve as interim CEO with the board's "full confidence."
However, the board's plan quickly unraveled. According to multiple sources who spoke with TechCrunch, Mullenweg seemingly refused to step down, removed other admins from the company Slack, and told employees that everything had been resolved and that he was back in control of Automattic. At one point, he posted to Slack, "I'm a pirate now," and used profanity—something Mullenweg is famously known not to do. "If this is an HR problem, please wrangle me in since my normal wranglers are with Mark Davies," he wrote.
Mixed Signals and Board Uncertainty
When TechCrunch asked Mullenweg whether his comments about being back as CEO were legitimate, he promised a blog post was coming. However, when it arrived, it was about him buying a houseboat. When asked if his comments about being back were also him trolling, he replied, "I'm not a troll, I'm a pirate, obviously." Mullenweg never provided an official comment about his return but noted on X that this was likely the fifth time he has faced a "coup."
Automattic did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Friday, nor to reports of board member Toni Schneider stepping down. Schneider, a founding CEO of Automattic, now leads Bluesky. He did not return requests for comment sent to his personal email or via Bluesky.
TechCrunch has since asked Automattic again about this and other changes to the board's composition, which sources say may still be in flux.
via TechCrunch