#automattic — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #automattic, aggregated by home.social.
-
Automattic's board forced Matt Mullenweg onto a paid leave of absence, naming CFO Mark Davies interim CEO. Here is what the Matt Mullenweg leave means.
-
WordPress drama.
✅ Automattic's board forces CEO Matt Mullenweg into leave of absence | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/09/automattics-board-forces-ceo-matt-mullenweg-into-leave-of-absence/
#wordpress #automattic -
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg Put on 'Leave of Absence'
On a company-wide Slack this morning, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg announced he has been put on a paid leave of absence.
“And the biggest news: I won't be able to make the ELT tomorrow,” Matt wrote in an Announcement Slack. He continued, writing that Mark Davies, current Automattic Chief Financial Officer, has “conspired” with Automattic Board of Directors members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker “behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that.”
He wrote that Davies was voted to be the new interim CEO. “I received the resolution 50 minutes before the meeting start, and requested repeatedly for time to have it reviewed by independent legal counsel, even a few hours, which was denied,” Mullenweg wrote.
Mullenweg is the founder of Automattic, the company that owns WordPress, Tumblr, Pocket Casts, and a host of other popular internet brands and pieces of software. Mullenweg has faced several controversies over his management of the company in recent years.
In the same Slack channel, Davies wrote that Mullenweg would remain a board member and “he will have a voice in setting direction and making decisions.”
"As you have seen from Matt's previous messages, Automattic's board has decided to ask Matt to step away from his CEO role and take a leave of absence,” Schneider wrote following Mullenweg’s message. “We have asked Mark Davies to assume the interim CEO role while Matt is out. We've worked closely with Mark over the years and we're confident he will steer the ship well while Matt is away. I'm sure you will have many questions and Mark and your leadership team will be available to answer them.”
“I want to thank Matt for his support and I intend to support him, the Board, Automattic, and our customers during this interim situation,” Davies wrote in that Slack channel. “It will take me some time to come up to speed, but we'll move forward with transparency, communication, and teamwork.” He wrote that nothing will change as a result of Mullenweg’s leave.
Mullenweg, Schneider, and Davies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An Automattic spokesperson confirmed the above to 404 Media in a statement: "Matt Mullenweg is currently on leave from Automattic. Mark Davies, Automattic’s CFO, will lead the company as interim CEO. The Board has full confidence in Mark's leadership and in the team's ability to execute against the company's priorities."
For the last few years, Mullenweg has waged a divisive legal battle with WP Engine, sparing publicly with opponents and peers on social media and in his personal blog. In 2024, he made an “Alignment Offer,” giving Automattic employees who disagreed with his stances the option to take six months of pay or $30,000, whichever was higher, with the stipulation that they would lose access to their work logins that same evening and would not be eligible for rehire.
One hundred and fifty-nine people took the offer and left. He then made another buyout offer, and threatened employees who spoke to the press with termination, saying, “exit gracefully, or be fired tomorrow with no severance.”
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg Put on 'Leave of Absence'
On a company-wide Slack this morning, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg announced he has been put on a paid leave of absence.
“And the biggest news: I won't be able to make the ELT tomorrow,” Matt wrote in an Announcement Slack. He continued, writing that Mark Davies, current Automattic Chief Financial Officer, has “conspired” with Automattic Board of Directors members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker “behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that.”
He wrote that Davies was voted to be the new interim CEO. “I received the resolution 50 minutes before the meeting start, and requested repeatedly for time to have it reviewed by independent legal counsel, even a few hours, which was denied,” Mullenweg wrote.
Mullenweg is the founder of Automattic, the company that owns WordPress, Tumblr, Pocket Casts, and a host of other popular internet brands and pieces of software. Mullenweg has faced several controversies over his management of the company in recent years.
In the same Slack channel, Davies wrote that Mullenweg would remain a board member and “he will have a voice in setting direction and making decisions.”
"As you have seen from Matt's previous messages, Automattic's board has decided to ask Matt to step away from his CEO role and take a leave of absence,” Schneider wrote following Mullenweg’s message. “We have asked Mark Davies to assume the interim CEO role while Matt is out. We've worked closely with Mark over the years and we're confident he will steer the ship well while Matt is away. I'm sure you will have many questions and Mark and your leadership team will be available to answer them.”
“I want to thank Matt for his support and I intend to support him, the Board, Automattic, and our customers during this interim situation,” Davies wrote in that Slack channel. “It will take me some time to come up to speed, but we'll move forward with transparency, communication, and teamwork.” He wrote that nothing will change as a result of Mullenweg’s leave.
Mullenweg, Schneider, and Davies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An Automattic spokesperson confirmed the above to 404 Media in a statement: "Matt Mullenweg is currently on leave from Automattic. Mark Davies, Automattic’s CFO, will lead the company as interim CEO. The Board has full confidence in Mark's leadership and in the team's ability to execute against the company's priorities."
For the last few years, Mullenweg has waged a divisive legal battle with WP Engine, sparing publicly with opponents and peers on social media and in his personal blog. In 2024, he made an “Alignment Offer,” giving Automattic employees who disagreed with his stances the option to take six months of pay or $30,000, whichever was higher, with the stipulation that they would lose access to their work logins that same evening and would not be eligible for rehire.
One hundred and fifty-nine people took the offer and left. He then made another buyout offer, and threatened employees who spoke to the press with termination, saying, “exit gracefully, or be fired tomorrow with no severance.”
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg Put on 'Leave of Absence'
On a company-wide Slack this morning, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg announced he has been put on a paid leave of absence.
“And the biggest news: I won't be able to make the ELT tomorrow,” Matt wrote in an Announcement Slack. He continued, writing that Mark Davies, current Automattic Chief Financial Officer, has “conspired” with Automattic Board of Directors members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker “behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that.”
He wrote that Davies was voted to be the new interim CEO. “I received the resolution 50 minutes before the meeting start, and requested repeatedly for time to have it reviewed by independent legal counsel, even a few hours, which was denied,” Mullenweg wrote.
Mullenweg is the founder of Automattic, the company that owns WordPress, Tumblr, Pocket Casts, and a host of other popular internet brands and pieces of software. Mullenweg has faced several controversies over his management of the company in recent years.
In the same Slack channel, Davies wrote that Mullenweg would remain a board member and “he will have a voice in setting direction and making decisions.”
"As you have seen from Matt's previous messages, Automattic's board has decided to ask Matt to step away from his CEO role and take a leave of absence,” Schneider wrote following Mullenweg’s message. “We have asked Mark Davies to assume the interim CEO role while Matt is out. We've worked closely with Mark over the years and we're confident he will steer the ship well while Matt is away. I'm sure you will have many questions and Mark and your leadership team will be available to answer them.”
“I want to thank Matt for his support and I intend to support him, the Board, Automattic, and our customers during this interim situation,” Davies wrote in that Slack channel. “It will take me some time to come up to speed, but we'll move forward with transparency, communication, and teamwork.” He wrote that nothing will change as a result of Mullenweg’s leave.
Mullenweg, Schneider, and Davies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An Automattic spokesperson confirmed the above to 404 Media in a statement: "Matt Mullenweg is currently on leave from Automattic. Mark Davies, Automattic’s CFO, will lead the company as interim CEO. The Board has full confidence in Mark's leadership and in the team's ability to execute against the company's priorities."
For the last few years, Mullenweg has waged a divisive legal battle with WP Engine, sparing publicly with opponents and peers on social media and in his personal blog. In 2024, he made an “Alignment Offer,” giving Automattic employees who disagreed with his stances the option to take six months of pay or $30,000, whichever was higher, with the stipulation that they would lose access to their work logins that same evening and would not be eligible for rehire.
One hundred and fifty-nine people took the offer and left. He then made another buyout offer, and threatened employees who spoke to the press with termination, saying, “exit gracefully, or be fired tomorrow with no severance.”
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg Put on 'Leave of Absence'
On a company-wide Slack this morning, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg announced he has been put on a paid leave of absence.
“And the biggest news: I won't be able to make the ELT tomorrow,” Matt wrote in an Announcement Slack. He continued, writing that Mark Davies, current Automattic Chief Financial Officer, has “conspired” with Automattic Board of Directors members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker “behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that.”
He wrote that Davies was voted to be the new interim CEO. “I received the resolution 50 minutes before the meeting start, and requested repeatedly for time to have it reviewed by independent legal counsel, even a few hours, which was denied,” Mullenweg wrote.
Mullenweg is the founder of Automattic, the company that owns WordPress, Tumblr, Pocket Casts, and a host of other popular internet brands and pieces of software. Mullenweg has faced several controversies over his management of the company in recent years.
In the same Slack channel, Davies wrote that Mullenweg would remain a board member and “he will have a voice in setting direction and making decisions.”
"As you have seen from Matt's previous messages, Automattic's board has decided to ask Matt to step away from his CEO role and take a leave of absence,” Schneider wrote following Mullenweg’s message. “We have asked Mark Davies to assume the interim CEO role while Matt is out. We've worked closely with Mark over the years and we're confident he will steer the ship well while Matt is away. I'm sure you will have many questions and Mark and your leadership team will be available to answer them.”
“I want to thank Matt for his support and I intend to support him, the Board, Automattic, and our customers during this interim situation,” Davies wrote in that Slack channel. “It will take me some time to come up to speed, but we'll move forward with transparency, communication, and teamwork.” He wrote that nothing will change as a result of Mullenweg’s leave.
Mullenweg, Schneider, and Davies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An Automattic spokesperson confirmed the above to 404 Media in a statement: "Matt Mullenweg is currently on leave from Automattic. Mark Davies, Automattic’s CFO, will lead the company as interim CEO. The Board has full confidence in Mark's leadership and in the team's ability to execute against the company's priorities."
For the last few years, Mullenweg has waged a divisive legal battle with WP Engine, sparing publicly with opponents and peers on social media and in his personal blog. In 2024, he made an “Alignment Offer,” giving Automattic employees who disagreed with his stances the option to take six months of pay or $30,000, whichever was higher, with the stipulation that they would lose access to their work logins that same evening and would not be eligible for rehire.
One hundred and fifty-nine people took the offer and left. He then made another buyout offer, and threatened employees who spoke to the press with termination, saying, “exit gracefully, or be fired tomorrow with no severance.”
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
So an interesting thing to watch for, here, is that Automattic doesn't own the WordPress trademark. That's owned by the nonprofit Foundation, which is three Matt Mullenwegs in a trenchcoat, and licensed to Automattic. So he could revoke that, which would be HILARIOUS. (In theory Automattic has a perpetual and irrevocable license, but there are almost certainly ways around that, and he's threatened to revoke it before.)
Mullenweg also PERSONALLY OWNS the wordpress dot org domain (it is owned by neither the Foundation NOR Automattic, but by Matt himself), which he could also make them stop using.
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
So an interesting thing to watch for, here, is that Automattic doesn't own the WordPress trademark. That's owned by the nonprofit Foundation, which is three Matt Mullenwegs in a trenchcoat, and licensed to Automattic. So he could revoke that, which would be HILARIOUS. (In theory Automattic has a perpetual and irrevocable license, but there are almost certainly ways around that, and he's threatened to revoke it before.)
Mullenweg also PERSONALLY OWNS the wordpress dot org domain (it is owned by neither the Foundation NOR Automattic, but by Matt himself), which he could also make them stop using.
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
So an interesting thing to watch for, here, is that Automattic doesn't own the WordPress trademark. That's owned by the nonprofit Foundation, which is three Matt Mullenwegs in a trenchcoat, and licensed to Automattic. So he could revoke that, which would be HILARIOUS. (In theory Automattic has a perpetual and irrevocable license, but there are almost certainly ways around that, and he's threatened to revoke it before.)
Mullenweg also PERSONALLY OWNS the wordpress dot org domain (it is owned by neither the Foundation NOR Automattic, but by Matt himself), which he could also make them stop using.
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
So an interesting thing to watch for, here, is that Automattic doesn't own the WordPress trademark. That's owned by the nonprofit Foundation, which is three Matt Mullenwegs in a trenchcoat, and licensed to Automattic. So he could revoke that, which would be HILARIOUS. (In theory Automattic has a perpetual and irrevocable license, but there are almost certainly ways around that, and he's threatened to revoke it before.)
Mullenweg also PERSONALLY OWNS the wordpress dot org domain (it is owned by neither the Foundation NOR Automattic, but by Matt himself), which he could also make them stop using.
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
So an interesting thing to watch for, here, is that Automattic doesn't own the WordPress trademark. That's owned by the nonprofit Foundation, which is three Matt Mullenwegs in a trenchcoat, and licensed to Automattic. So he could revoke that, which would be HILARIOUS. (In theory Automattic has a perpetual and irrevocable license, but there are almost certainly ways around that, and he's threatened to revoke it before.)
Mullenweg also PERSONALLY OWNS the wordpress dot org domain (it is owned by neither the Foundation NOR Automattic, but by Matt himself), which he could also make them stop using.
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
[description: Destiel meme macro with the text "Matt Mullenweg has been forcibly removed as CEO of Automattic/Tumblr]
-
[description: Destiel meme macro with the text "Matt Mullenweg has been forcibly removed as CEO of Automattic/Tumblr]
-
[description: Destiel meme macro with the text "Matt Mullenweg has been forcibly removed as CEO of Automattic/Tumblr]
-
[description: Destiel meme macro with the text "Matt Mullenweg has been forcibly removed as CEO of Automattic/Tumblr]
-
[description: Destiel meme macro with the text "Matt Mullenweg has been forcibly removed as CEO of Automattic/Tumblr]
-
Finally, some fucking good food news
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
(via @WeirdWriter)
-
Finally, some fucking good food news
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
(via @WeirdWriter)
-
Finally, some fucking good food news
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
(via @WeirdWriter)
-
Finally, some fucking good food news
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
(via @WeirdWriter)
-
:wordpress: Mullenweg was muscle out and I'm just hearing about it now.
｢ writing that Mark Davies, current Automattic Chief Financial Officer, has “conspired” with Automattic Board of Directors members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker “behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that.” ｣
Where's my bag of hammers?
credits to @404mediaco
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
:wordpress: Mullenweg was muscle out and I'm just hearing about it now.
｢ writing that Mark Davies, current Automattic Chief Financial Officer, has “conspired” with Automattic Board of Directors members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker “behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that.” ｣
Where's my bag of hammers?
credits to @404mediaco
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
:wordpress: Mullenweg was muscle out and I'm just hearing about it now.
｢ writing that Mark Davies, current Automattic Chief Financial Officer, has “conspired” with Automattic Board of Directors members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker “behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that.” ｣
Where's my bag of hammers?
credits to @404mediaco
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
:wordpress: Mullenweg was muscle out and I'm just hearing about it now.
｢ writing that Mark Davies, current Automattic Chief Financial Officer, has “conspired” with Automattic Board of Directors members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker “behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that.” ｣
Where's my bag of hammers?
credits to @404mediaco
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
:wordpress: Mullenweg was muscle out and I'm just hearing about it now.
｢ writing that Mark Davies, current Automattic Chief Financial Officer, has “conspired” with Automattic Board of Directors members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker “behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that.” ｣
Where's my bag of hammers?
credits to @404mediaco
https://www.404media.co/wordpress-automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence/
-
More #WP20 perspective:
2003 - WP born.
2004 - #bbPress
2005 - #automattic
2006 - ModernTribe
2007 - Contact Form 7; WPML, GravityGorms
2008 - WebDevStudios does WP; #BuddyPress, WooThemes
2009 - wpbeginner, Pippins Plugins
2010 - Yoast, Human Made
2011 - 10up, #WooCommerce -
How to sell a startup for a $1B, Automattic, WeWork craziness, Kobalt, Netflix, Blackstone, and ClimateTech - Editor’s Note
Apologies for not getting this roundup newsletter out on Saturday — I was on vacation ... more: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/w8C_vPoLH8k/ #theextracrunchdaily #stephenschwarzman #driesbuytaert #mattmullenweg #marcrandolph #climatetech #automattic #netflix #acquia #kobalt #wework