Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg has formed a new board of directors after an attempt to temporarily remove him from office failed. The founder and CEO of the company behind WordPress.com and WooCommerce relied on his dominant voting rights within Automattic.
The board crisis unfolded earlier this month. The board at the time decided to place Mullenweg on paid leave. The measure lasted only 33 hours. Mullenweg reversed the decision and subsequently parted ways with several board members and senior executives involved in the move.
According to TechCrunch, Automattic now has an entirely new board of directors. Its members include Silo author Hugh Howey and Amy Chan, known for the book *Breakup Bootcamp*. Henry Khachatryan and Krutal Desai have also been appointed. Both were involved with the now-defunct social app IRL.
These last two appointments are particularly notable. IRL went under in 2023 after an investigation revealed that a large portion of its purported users were bots. Investor SoftBank subsequently accused the company of fraud. The former founders, in turn, sued SoftBank and other investors.
Mullenweg retains control
Mullenweg’s ability to overturn the board’s decision stems from Automattic’s ownership structure. He said in 2024 that he controls 84 percent of the company’s voting rights. This gives the CEO significantly more power than the board that attempted to suspend him.
Following his return, Toni Schneider, Automattic’s first CEO and currently CEO of Bluesky, was among those who left the board. Sue Decker also resigned, and Mullenweg removed former General Ann Dunwoody from the board. Additionally, CFO Mark Davies and General Counsel Andy Missan were asked to step down. Davies had been designated to temporarily take over as CEO.
Mullenweg now not only holds the CEO position but, according to TechCrunch, also formally serves as Automattic’s president, treasurer, and secretary. The previous board has not publicly disclosed why it placed him on leave.
Legal battle with WP Engine
This internal power struggle is unfolding while Automattic is embroiled in a long-running legal conflict with hosting company WP Engine. Among other things, the dispute centers on the use of WordPress trademarks and the contribution that, according to Mullenweg, WP Engine should be making to the WordPress open-source project.
Mullenweg described the former board members’ intervention on X itself as an attempt at a “coup.” According to him, the next six months will be decisive for Automattic’s next twenty years.