Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg on leave
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Automattic's board placed CEO Matt Mullenweg on paid leave and named CFO Mark Davies interim CEO.
Mullenweg stays on the board, and WordPress.org's control remains the open question.
Background
Automattic is the parent company of WordPress.com, Tumblr, WooCommerce, and Pocket Casts, and Mullenweg founded it in 2003 after co-creating the open-source WordPress software. He had led the company as CEO since 2014. In 2024 he waged a public pressure campaign against a prominent WordPress host, dividing the open-source community and igniting a legal battle that is still going on. The board's action came without a publicly stated reason.
How it unfolded
- Feb 2024Mullenweg takes a self-described three-month 'sabbatical' from the CEO role — his first, self-initiated leave, distinct from the board-forced one in 2026.
- Sep 9, 2026Mullenweg posts in a companywide Slack that CFO Mark Davies 'conspired' with board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker to put him on a paid leave of absence; he says he voted against it and was denied time for independent legal counsel to review the resolution.
- Sep 9, 2026Automattic confirms Mullenweg is on leave and that Davies will lead as interim CEO, saying the board has full confidence in Davies and the team.
- Sep 10, 2026Davies tells employees Mullenweg remains on the board of directors and will retain a say in setting direction and making decisions.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Automattic says Mullenweg is on leave, Davies will lead as interim CEO, and the board has full confidence in Davies and the team's ability to execute.
- Mullenweg
- Mullenweg says Davies conspired with board members behind his back, that he voted against the leave, and that he was denied time for his legal counsel to review the resolution.
- Analysts
- Computerworld notes enterprise WordPress users may see little change as long as Mullenweg fully controls WordPress.org, which handles patches and updates, while the leave's duration and any negotiations remain unclear.
Still unverified
The board has not disclosed why it acted at this particular time. Whether the leave is permanent or temporary, and whether any negotiations involve Mullenweg's control of WordPress.org, is unclear; neither Automattic nor Mullenweg has clarified. The 'conspiracy' claim is Mullenweg's own account, reported from internal Slack messages.