Automattic's Board Forces CEO Matt Mullenweg Into Leave of Absence
Automattic's board has placed founder and CEO Matt Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence against his will, with CFO Mark Davies taking over as interim CEO. The reason for the move remains unclear, but it follows years of legal fights, layoffs, employee departures, and controversy surrounding Mullenweg's leadership. TechCrunch reports: Earlier Wednesday, Mullenweg posted in a Slack channel visible…
Automattic's board has placed CEO Matt Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence without his consent, with CFO Mark Davies stepping in as interim CEO. The decision follows a tumultuous period marked by legal disputes, layoffs, employee departures, and controversy over Mullenweg's leadership. In a Slack message, Mullenweg alleged that CFO Mark Davies conspired with board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker to force him into the leave of absence.
Mullenweg had requested additional time to review the resolution with legal counsel, but his request was denied. WordPress.org, the open-source project overseen by Automattic, remains unaffected by the change in leadership.
Written by urgent.news from Slashdot's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
- Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg 'forced' into leave of absence by WordPress parent company board techradar.com
- Matt Mullenweg tells Automattic staff in Slack he’s back in control after CEO ouster techcrunch.com
- Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg placed on leave theverge.com
- Slack message: Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg says CFO Mark Davies "conspired" with board members to put him on paid leave and Davies was voted to be interim CEO (Samantha Cole/404 Media) 404media.co
