Automattic’s board forces CEO Matt Mullenweg into leave of absence
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What happened
Matt Mullenweg, the founder and CEO of Automattic, best known as the parent company of WordPress. com, has been put on a leave of absence by his board against his will, according to a Slack message seen by TechCrunch. Earlier Wednesday, Mullenweg posted in a Slack channel visible to all employees that the company’s Chief Financial […] 25% off tickets now Back by popular demand: Save up to $300 on Disrupt Close Image Credits:Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch Media & Entertainment Sources say Automattic’s board is out after failed attempt to oust CEO Matt Mullenweg Sarah Perez 8:34 AM PDT · September 14, 2026 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. I was Automattic’s founding CEO and continue to support internal projects and investments as a board member and special advisor. ” We’ve also heard that Mullenweg removed the two other board members, Sue Decker and Gen. Given that these departed board members were those who voted to put Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence to begin with, it makes sense that a board shakeup has taken place.
Initially, we heard from sources that Toni Schneider, a founding CEO at Automattic who now leads the open social network Bluesky, had resigned his Automattic board seat. Decker’s LinkedIn bio has been updated to confirm that she served on Automattic’s board from March 2020 through September 2026, despite her name still appearing on Automattic’s Board of Directors page at the time of publication.
The wider picture
Image Credits:LinkedIn screenshot When asked by TechCrunch about the board changes, Automattic declined to provide specifics, but offered a statement acknowledging that people have left. TechCrunch is hearing from sources that Automattic may make an internal announcement about the new board sometime on Monday. In addition to the board departures, Automattic’s Chief Legal Officer Andy Missan also updated his LinkedIn bio, showing he’s no longer at the company as of September 2026. Mullenweg and Automattic are involved in a high-profile lawsuit with a WordPress hosting company, WP Engine.
Topics Automattic, Exclusive, matt mullenweg, Media & Entertainment, WordPress When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Automattic confirmed to TechCrunch on Saturday that he had returned. Schneider has since removed a paragraph from his bio page on his personal website which had noted his contributions at Automattic. Previously, Schneider’s website read: “I also contribute actively at Automattic, the open source company behind WordPress. com and WooCommerce.
What has been reported
Via an email that arrived after midnight PT on Sunday, an Automattic spokesperson shared the following: “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. It also explains how Mullenweg’s return to his position as CEO would have the “full support of the board,” as a statement issued on Saturday indicated.
Earlier this year, WP Engine claimed in a court filing that Automattic planned to target other competitors with royalty fees. On Friday, TechCrunch exclusively reported Mullenweg told the company’s staff that he was back in control of the company, also via Slack post. Matt was away for only 33 hours and 20 minutes—we’re now back to work,” the spokesperson said. What prompted the board’s vote still remains unclear. Mullenweg has accused the company of infringing on the WordPress trademark and not sufficiently contributing in terms of engineering hours or money to the open source WordPress effort.
What happens next
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. Disrupt 2026: OpenAI, Anthropic, Replit, and more take over 6 industry stages. You can reach Sarah Perez at sarahp@techcrunch. com or @sarahperez. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. Sarah Perez Consumer News Editor Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011.
She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb.