Automattic has a new interim CFO: Jeremy KlapermanCFO of the company’s WordPress VIP Enterprise business unit. The news, shared internally on Friday, follows the attempted ouster of Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg last week, which ultimately resulted in the departure of board members who voted him out and other executives, including then-chief financial officer Mark Davies. Davies was briefly interim chief executive before Mullenweg took up the position.
In a Slack post, Mullenweg shared that Klaperman had previously acted as Automattic’s CFO when Davies was on sabbatical. He noted that the board, whose new members have not yet been announced, will still need to evaluate internal and external candidates for the position before making a final decision.
Additionally, Mullenweg said in the post that a candidate to become the company’s Chief Legal Officer had also just verbally accepted the position, replacing Chief Legal Officer Andy Missan, who has also since left the company along with Davies. TechCrunch recently reported that Davies and Missan had signed mutual severance agreements during Mullenweg’s 33-hour leave before he returned as chief executive.
“I am 100% confident in our financial and cash position,” Mullenweg’s post concluded, adding, “There is still work to be done, but everything is under our control and depends only on Automattic’s ability to execute.”
In later updates, Mullenweg also said to “stay tuned” for board announcements and noted that special advisor and Wolfram|Alpha creator Stephen Wolfram will continue in his role. position. The next meeting of the company’s board of directors is scheduled for September 23.