Automattic Board Forces WordPress Founder Mullenweg on Paid Leave, Echoes OpenAI

Automattic, the commercial parent of WordPress.com, saw its board of directors vote to place founder and CEO Matt Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence against his wishes, appointing CFO Mark Davis as interim CEO. The board did not publicly disclose the specific reasons for the decision.

Mullenweg revealed the move in a company-wide Slack channel, accusing CFO Mark Davis and board members Ann Dunwoody, Tony Schneider, and Hugh DeKell of colluding behind his back. He stated he voted against the resolution and was given the decision document only 50 minutes before the meeting; his requests for time to have independent legal counsel review it were denied. The Slack message read: "Major news: tomorrow I will not be able to attend the executive meeting. @Mark Davis conspired with @Ann Dunwoody, @Tony, @Hugh DeKell behind my back, voted to put me on paid leave. I voted no. Good luck to Mark and everyone. Addendum: Mark Davis elected interim CEO by vote. I received this resolution document 50 minutes before the meeting started. I asked multiple times for just a few hours to let independent legal counsel review this resolution, but the request was refused."

An Automattic spokesperson confirmed Mullenweg is "currently on leave" and that Davis will serve as interim CEO with the board's full confidence. Mullenweg retains his board seat. Critically, the leadership of the open-source WordPress.org project is independent of Automattic and will not be affected by the leave.

Internal employee reactions were polarized: some expressed relief or delight, while others were shocked and anxious about the sudden governance upheaval. The board action follows years of turbulence at Automattic, including multiple public legal disputes, several rounds of layoffs, and the departure of many senior staff. Long-standing internal dissatisfaction with Mullenweg's management style had been voiced, but the board had never before directly forced the founder to step aside.

Automattic is known for its fully distributed remote culture. Founded by Mullenweg in 2005, he also created the WordPress open-source project and has long controlled all major company strategy. The company uses a founder-friendly equity structure, making a board vote to suspend the founder's daily management rights a rare event in Silicon Valley startups.

The duration of the leave was not disclosed. The board issued no public explanation for the trigger event, and the company declined to elaborate on the motives or respond to Mullenweg's "conspiracy" allegations.

Update (48 hours later): Mullenweg regained control of the company and returned to the CEO role, with the board flipping back to support him. Full details of the conflict remain undisclosed. The episode bears strong parallels to the OpenAI board's attempt to oust Sam Altman in late 2023, where the CEO also ultimately reclaimed authority.

Paid leave of absence : A common corporate measure where salary continues but all daily management powers are suspended; it is not equivalent to formal termination.

Automattic : The commercial company operating WordPress.com; WordPress.org is a separate independent open-source community project.