Mullenweg claims return as Automattic CEO
Matt Mullenweg claimed in an internal Slack message that Automattic's board is once again in agreement and that he has returned to his role as CEO, following a turbulent 48 hours in which the board voted to place him on paid leave and appointed CFO Mark Davies as interim chief executive. While Mullenweg characterized the ordeal as a misunderstanding, the board has not officially confirmed his reinstatement, and Mark Davies' Slack account was reportedly deactivated amid ongoing internal administrative turmoil and Mullenweg's public accusations linking his ouster to Automattic's legal battle with WP Engine owner Silver Lake.
A chaotic corporate power struggle has spilled into public view, exposing deep governance fractures and threatening the stability of one of the web's foundational open-source stewards. The whiplash reversal within 48 hours highlights severe dysfunction between Mullenweg and Automattic's board of directors. Revoking administrator privileges and deactivating the interim CEO's Slack suggests a hostile internal confrontation rather than an orderly reconciliation. Mullenweg's public attacks tying the board's actions to the WP Engine lawsuit illustrate how personal and volatile Automattic's external conflicts have become. Without an official statement from the board, Automattic's employees, partners, and the broader WordPress ecosystem remain in an unsettling state of limbo.
DISCOVERED
1h ago
2026-09-11
PUBLISHED
2h ago
2026-09-11
RELEVANCE
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mkeeter