{
  "id": 6585579,
  "title": "Automattic's board forces CEO Matt Mullenweg into leave of absence",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/automattics-board-forces-ceo-matt-mullenweg-into-leave-of-absence-6585579",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-09T23:49:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hacker News Best",
    "slug": "hacker-news-best",
    "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/09/automattics-board-forces-ceo-matt-mullenweg-into-leave-of-absence/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, announced on Wednesday that its CEO Matt Mullenweg will be placed on a leave of absence at the request of its board. According to a Slack message seen by TechCrunch, it was CFO Mark Davies who conspired with board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker to enact this decision. Mullenweg, however, voted against it. He had previously informed the open source WordPress.org community about his change in status through a separate Slack message. Despite the board's move, Mullenweg remains on the board of directors. Automattic's CFO, Mark Davies, will take over as interim CEO. The company remains confident in the leadership of its team and its ability to follow through on its priorities. The decision's rationale remains undisclosed.",
  "summary": "Article URL: https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/09/automattics-board-forces-ceo-matt-mullenweg-into-leave-of-absence/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49636283 Points: 327 # Comments: 215",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "404 Media",
        "title": "Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg Put on 'Leave of Absence'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-of-absence",
        "published": "2026-09-09T21:21:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Verge",
        "title": "Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg placed on leave",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-placed-on-leave",
        "published": "2026-09-09T22:15:52.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "TechCrunch",
        "title": "Automattic’s board forces CEO Matt Mullenweg into leave of absence",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/automattics-board-forces-ceo-matt-mullenweg-into-leave-of-absence",
        "published": "2026-09-09T23:14:29.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "TechRadar",
        "title": "Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg 'forced' into leave of absence by WordPress parent company board",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-forced-into-leave-of-absence-by",
        "published": "2026-09-10T12:05:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Slashdot",
        "title": "Automattic's Board Forces CEO Matt Mullenweg Into Leave of Absence",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/automattics-board-forces-ceo-matt-mullenweg-into-leave-of-absence",
        "published": "2026-09-10T17:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}