{
  "id": 7872094,
  "title": "Automattic says CEO Mullenweg was gone and back inside 33 hours. What happened between?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/automattic-says-ceo-mullenweg-was-gone-and-back-inside-33-hours-what",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-16T20:39:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The New Stack",
    "slug": "the-new-stack",
    "url": "https://thenewstack.io/automattic-mullenweg-boardroom-reversal/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Automattic, the company behind WordPress, experienced a rapid shift in leadership this month after CEO Matt Mullenweg went on leave and returned 33 hours later. Mullenweg, who co-founded WordPress in 2003, was replaced by CFO Mark Davies before being reinstated. The company has not publicly disclosed the reason behind Mullenweg's leave and return. Despite the short duration of his absence, Automatticans have shown their support for the CEO. This event has raised questions about boardroom dynamics and succession plans within the company.",
  "summary": "There were unusual goings-on this month at Automattic, a company known for its free and open-source app for building WordPress The post Automattic says CEO Mullenweg was gone and back inside 33 hours. What happened between? appeared first on The New Stack .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "TechCrunch",
        "title": "Automattic’s interim CEO and legal chief signed reciprocal severance deals during Mullenweg’s brief ouster",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/automattics-interim-ceo-and-legal-chief-signed-reciprocal-severance",
        "published": "2026-09-16T19:35:29.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}