Automattic's board is out, multiple sources have confirmed to TechCrunch, after last week's attempt to oust CEO Matt Mullenweg by voting to put him on a paid leave of absence.
After the vote, Mullenweg, the WordPress founder and CEO of WordPress.com parent company Automattic, accused the board of conspiring against him in a post on Automattic's Slack. On Friday, TechCrunch exclusively reported that Mullenweg told staff he was back in control of the company, also via a Slack post. Automattic confirmed to TechCrunch on Saturday that he had returned.
Sources initially told TechCrunch that Toni Schneider, a founding CEO at Automattic who now leads the open social network Bluesky, had resigned his Automattic board seat. Schneider has since removed a paragraph from his personal website bio that had noted his contributions at Automattic. TechCrunch also heard that Mullenweg removed the two other board members, Sue Decker and Gen. Ann Dunwoody. Decker's LinkedIn bio has been updated to confirm she served on Automattic's board from March 2020 through September 2026, though her name still appeared on Automattic's Board of Directors page at the time of publication.
Asked about the board changes, Automattic declined to provide specifics but offered a statement acknowledging that people have left. In an email that arrived after midnight PT on Sunday, an Automattic spokesperson said: "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."
Given that the departed board members were those who voted to put Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence, a board shakeup follows. It also explains how Mullenweg's return as CEO would have the "full support of the board," as a statement issued on Saturday indicated. TechCrunch is hearing from sources that Automattic may make an internal announcement about the new board sometime on Monday.
What prompted the board's vote still remains unclear. Mullenweg and Automattic are involved in a high-profile lawsuit with WordPress hosting company WP Engine. Mullenweg has accused the company of infringing on the WordPress trademark and not sufficiently contributing engineering hours or money to the open source WordPress effort. Earlier this year, WP Engine claimed in a court filing that Automattic planned to target other competitors with royalty fees. More recently, it has accused Mullenweg of allegedly destroying evidence related to the case in apps like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram. Last year, Mullenweg had deactivated the accounts of several WordPress contributors over alleged plans to fork the open source software.