{
  "id": 6615547,
  "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",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-10T17:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Slashdot",
    "slug": "slashdot",
    "url": "https://slashdot.org/story/26/09/10/1649254/automattics-board-forces-ceo-matt-mullenweg-into-leave-of-absence"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "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…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "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"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}