Automattic confirms Mullenweg is back as CEO after board's attempted ouster

After a tumultuous week that saw WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg ousted as CEO of Automattic by a board vote, the company has issued a statement confirming Mullenweg has returned to his position. “Matt Mullenweg is the chairman and CEO of Automattic, with full support of the board and if you search online you can see many top executives and Automatticians supporting him as well,” a company spokesperson told TechCrunch via email just after 5 p.m. ET on Saturday — an apparent reference to supportive posts on X that Mullenweg had been reposting from his own account.

Automattic’s board had voted earlier in the week to put Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence for unknown reasons, a move that seemingly surprised Mullenweg, who posted on the company’s Slack accusing board members of “conspiring” against him. Automattic confirmed the removal to TechCrunch on Wednesday, saying Mullenweg was “currently on leave” and that chief financial officer Mark Davies would lead as interim CEO with “full confidence” of the board.

The board’s plan did not go smoothly. Mullenweg removed other admins from the company Slack and told employees everything had been worked out and that he was back in control, multiple sources told TechCrunch. He also posted to Slack, “I’m a pirate now” and cursed — something he famously did not do — adding, “If this is an HR problem, please wrangle me in since my normal wranglers are with Mark Davies.” Asked by TechCrunch whether his comments about being back as CEO were legitimate, Mullenweg promised a blog post was coming; when it arrived, it was about him buying a houseboat. Asked if his comments were also him trolling, he replied, “I’m not a troll I’m a pirate, obviously.” Mullenweg never provided official comment about his return, but noted on X this was likely the fifth time he’s faced a “coup.”

Automattic did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Friday, nor to reports that board member Toni Schneider — a founding CEO of Automattic who now leads Bluesky — was stepping down; Schneider did not return requests for comment. Automattic responded to questions about board composition after publication early Monday morning, stating: “Matt and Automattic’s leadership team have great respect for everyone involved. While we can’t comment on specific individuals, we’re thankful for their contributions to Automattic and its mission, and we remain excited about what’s ahead with Matt at the helm. Matt was away for only 33 hours and 20 minutes — we’re now back to work.”

Why it matters

The episode leaves open questions about Automattic’s board composition and governance even as the company tries to project unity, a lingering uncertainty for a company that runs much of the web’s publishing infrastructure.