After a tumultuous week, in which WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg removed from his position as CEO of AutomaticThe parent company of WordPress.com, by vote of the board of directors, the company has issued a statement confirming that Mullenweg has returned to his position.
“Matt Mullenweg is the president and CEO of Automattic, he has the full support of the board of directors and if you look online you can see that many senior executives and Automatticians also support him,” a company spokesperson shared with TechCrunch via email shortly after 5 p.m. ET on Saturday night. (The mention of online support appears to refer to support posts on X that Mullenweg has been reposting since your account x.)
Automattic’s board of directors had voted earlier this week to put Mullenweg on paid leave for unknown reasons. The move apparently came as a surprise to Mullenweg, who posted on Automattic’s Slack, accusing board members of “conspiring” against him.
Automatic confirmed Mullenweg’s dismissal to TechCrunch on Wednesday, saying that Mullenweg was “currently on leave” and that Automattic CFO Mark Davies would lead as interim CEO with the board’s “full confidence.”
However, the board’s plan did not go well. Mullenweg, apparently refusing to leave, kicked out other Slack company administrators and told employees that everything had been resolved and who had regained control of Automatticmultiple sources told TechCrunch. At one point, he also posted on Slack: “I’m a pirate now” and swore, something Mullenweg made famous. he didn’t do it. “If this is an HR issue please let me know as my usual supervisors are Mark Davies,” he wrote.
When TechCrunch asked Mullenweg if his comments about his return as CEO were legitimate, he promised he would publish a blog post. When it arrived, however, it was him buying a houseboat. When asked if his comments about his comeback were also trolling, he responded: “I’m not a troll, I’m a pirate, obviously.” Mullenweg never made any official comments about his return, but noted in X that this is probably the fifth time he has faced a “coup d’état.”
Automattic also did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Friday, nor to reports we heard about the resignation of board member Toni Schneider. Schneider, founding CEO of Automattic, Bluesky now leads. He did not respond to requests for comment in his personal email or through requests sent to Bluesky.
We have since asked Automattic again about this and other changes to the board’s composition, which we hear may still be in flux.
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