Matt Mullenweg Returns as Automattic CEO After Board Puts Him on Paid Leave

Automattic’s board voted to put CEO Matt Mullenweg on paid leave, and Mullenweg told employees in a Slack message that he believed board members had “conspired” behind his back to vote him out.

“@Mark Davies has conspired with @Ann Dunwoody, @Toni, and @Sue Decker behind my back”

TechCrunch

In that same Slack message, Mullenweg said he received the resolution “50 minutes before the meeting start” and that his request for time to have it reviewed by independent legal counsel was “denied.”

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Automattic confirmed to TechCrunch that “Matt Mullenweg is currently on leave from Automattic,” and said CFO Mark Davies would lead as interim CEO.T

Two days later, Mullenweg posted again to Automattic’s Slack claiming the board was “back in agreement” and that he was “in control of Automattic,” while TechCrunch reported Automattic had not confirmed the reversal.T

The dispute is playing out against a backdrop of Automattic’s ongoing legal battle with WP Engine, which TechCrunch said began escalating in 2024 and included court rulings restoring access for WP Engine and internal restructuring at Automattic.T

Mullenweg’s account of the ouster centered on alleged coordination with specific board members, as TechCrunch reported he wrote that “@Mark Davies has conspired with @Ann Dunwoody, @Toni, and @Sue Decker behind my back.”T

WordPress Executive Director Mary Hubbard publicly asserted that WordPress.org was not impacted, writing, “Matt remains the leader of the WordPress project and I remain Executive Director.”

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Automattic’s spokesperson told TechCrunch that Mullenweg was “currently on leave” and that Davies would lead as interim CEO, while The Verge reported that Automattic did not immediately reply to its request for comment.T

After Mullenweg claimed he was back in control, TechCrunch reported that Davies’ Slack account was deactivated and that Mullenweg removed “all” admins from Automattic’s Slack, developments that Automattic had not independently confirmed.T

In a separate public posture, Mullenweg told The Verge that “If you don’t have a coup attempt every few years, you’re not hiring strong enough leaders,” and added in another post that “I think this was my fifth.”

The leadership fight is unfolding alongside Automattic’s broader corporate pressures, including workforce reductions, and TechCrunch reported that in 2024 Mullenweg told employees to quit with severance if they disagreed with him and that 159 employees did so.T

“and 159 did so”

TechCrunch

TechCrunch also tied the governance dispute to the WP Engine litigation, describing a motion for sanctions that accused Mullenweg of destroying or failing to preserve evidence and referencing claims that a laptop and a phone were unaccounted for.T

In his own response, Mullenweg told TechCrunch that he wanted to remove “some of my stuff currently hosted there, elsewhere,” while also saying he supported Mark Davies in his interim CEO role.

By September 12, CMSWire reported that Automattic confirmed Mullenweg was back as “chairman and CEO” with “full support of the board,” contradicting the earlier interim-CEO statement.

Even as the company’s status shifted, the underlying conflict with WP Engine remained central in the reporting, with TechCrunch describing that WP Engine sued in October 2024 and accused Automattic and Mullenweg of defamation and abuse of power.T