Automattic Creates New Board After Failed Bid to Put CEO on Leave

Matt Mullenweg, who controls 84% of voting power, replaces directors who tried to sideline him and installs loyalists including a science-fiction author and two co-founders of a shuttered social app

Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg has assembled a new board of directors weeks after the previous board voted to place him on paid leave, a move that ultimately failed within roughly 33 hours and resulted in the departure of the directors and executives who orchestrated it .

The New Board

The four new directors are Hugh Howey, author of the Silo science-fiction series; Amy Chan, author of Breakup Bootcamp; and Henry Khachatryan and Krutal Desai, co-founders of the defunct social app IRL .

Mullenweg described Khachatryan as a “founder and builder.” IRL shut down in 2023 after investigations found that nearly all of its users were bots, and SoftBank later sued the company for securities fraud .

Automattic has also added three advisers: former Whoop CTO Jaime Waydo, June co-founder Matt Van Horn, and KISSmetrics co-founder Hiten Shah. Computer scientist Stephen Wolfram has joined as a board adviser .

Mullenweg told staff about the changes in Automattic’s Slack announcements channel on Friday, September 25 .

The Failed Ouster

On September 9, Automattic’s board voted to place Mullenweg on paid leave for reasons that have never been publicly disclosed. CFO Mark Davies was appointed interim CEO with the board’s “full confidence” .

Mullenweg, who told staff he learned of the resolution only 50 minutes before the meeting and was denied time to consult independent legal counsel, accused the board members of “conspiring” against him . He controls 84% of the company’s voting power, a fact he disclosed in 2024 .

The ouster lasted 33 hours and 20 minutes. Mullenweg booted other admins from the company Slack, declared himself back in control, and posted messages including “I’m a pirate now” — a notable departure for someone who famously avoided profanity . Automattic later issued a statement confirming he was chairman and CEO “with full support of the board” .

Departures

The board members who voted against Mullenweg have since left. Toni Schneider, Automattic’s founding CEO who now runs Bluesky, resigned from the board. Sue Decker also resigned, and Mullenweg removed General Ann Dunwoody .

Mark Davies and Chief Legal Officer Andy Missan departed the company. Automattic appointed Jeremy Klaperman, previously CFO of its WordPress VIP Enterprise business, as interim CFO .

Davies and Missan had signed reciprocal severance agreements during the brief ouster window, effective September 10. The packages provide each with 12 months of base salary as a lump sum, accelerated equity vesting, and a year of health coverage — totaling approximately $8.15 million that Automattic may now owe. The company’s legal team is determining whether to pay or challenge the agreements’ validity .

Background: The WP Engine Conflict

The leadership crisis unfolded against the backdrop of Automattic’s ongoing legal battle with hosting provider WP Engine. In September 2024, Mullenweg publicly accused WP Engine of profiting from WordPress without contributing adequately to the open-source project, calling it a “cancer” and blocking its access to WordPress.org resources .

WP Engine sued, and Automattic countersued, alleging trademark misuse and deceptive business practices. The case remains ongoing .

Mullenweg told TechCrunch: “We are living through times of unprecedented change, possibly a singularity. The next six months will determine the next 20 years of Automattic” .