Matt Mullenweg, the founder and CEO of Automattic, which owns WordPress.com, has been placed on a paid leave of absence by the company's board. This decision was made against his will, according to a Slack message seen by TechCrunch.
Mullenweg posted in a company-wide Slack channel that Chief Financial Officer Mark Davies, along with board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker, voted for the leave. Mullenweg stated he voted against the resolution and was denied time to seek independent legal counsel.
Mark Davies has been voted in as interim CEO. Automattic confirmed Mullenweg's leave in an emailed statement, expressing the board's full confidence in Davies' leadership.
Mary Hubbard, executive director of the open-source WordPress.org project, confirmed Mullenweg's status change at the commercial company but stated that WordPress.org remains unaffected, with Mullenweg continuing as its leader.
The reason for the board's action was not made clear in Mullenweg's Slack message. Automattic has faced lawsuits and controversy in recent years, including a legal battle with WP Engine and a 16% staff layoff in April 2025.