Automattic’s board is out, a number of sources have confirmed to TechCrunch, after final week’s try to oust CEO Matt Mullenweg by voting to place him on a paid go away of absence.
After the vote, Mullenweg, the WordPress founder and CEO of WordPress.com mum or dad firm Automattic, accused the board of conspiring in opposition to him in a publish on Automattic’s Slack. On Friday, TechCrunch completely reported Mullenweg advised the corporate’s employees that he was again answerable for the corporate, additionally through Slack publish. Automattic confirmed to TechCrunch on Saturday that he had returned.
Initially, we heard from sources that Toni Schneider, a founding CEO at Automattic who now leads the open social community Bluesky, had resigned his Automattic board seat. Schneider has since eliminated a paragraph from his bio page on his personal website which had famous his contributions at Automattic.
Previously, Schneider’s website read: “I additionally contribute actively at Automattic, the open supply firm behind WordPress.com and WooCommerce. I used to be Automattic’s founding CEO and proceed to help inside initiatives and investments as a board member and particular advisor.”
We’ve additionally heard that Mullenweg eliminated the 2 different board members, Sue Decker and Gen. Ann Dunwoody.
Decker’s LinkedIn bio has been up to date to verify that she served on Automattic’s board from March 2020 via September 2026, regardless of her identify nonetheless showing on Automattic’s Board of Directors web page on the time of publication.
When requested by TechCrunch in regards to the board modifications, Automattic declined to offer specifics, however supplied an announcement acknowledging that folks have left.
Through an e-mail that arrived after midnight PT on Sunday, an Automattic spokesperson shared the next:
“Matt and Automattic’s management group have nice respect for everybody concerned. Whereas we will’t touch upon particular people, we’re grateful for his or her contributions to Automattic and its mission, and we stay enthusiastic about what’s forward with Matt on the helm. Matt was away for under 33 hours and 20 minutes—we’re now again to work,” the spokesperson stated.
Provided that these departed board members have been those that voted to place Mullenweg on a paid go away of absence to start with, it is smart {that a} board shakeup has taken place. It additionally explains how Mullenweg’s return to his place as CEO would have the “full help of the board,” as an announcement issued on Saturday indicated.
TechCrunch is listening to from sources Automattic might make an inside announcement in regards to the new board someday on Monday.
What prompted the board’s vote nonetheless stays unclear. Mullenweg and Automattic are concerned in a high-profile lawsuit with a WordPress internet hosting firm, WP Engine. Mullenweg has accused the corporate of infringing on the WordPress trademark and never sufficiently contributing by way of engineering hours or cash to the open supply WordPress effort. Earlier this yr, WP Engine claimed in a court docket submitting that Automattic deliberate to focus on different rivals with royalty charges.
Extra lately, it has accused Mullenweg of allegedly destroying evidence associated to the case in apps like WhatsApp, Sign, and Telegram. Final yr, Mullenweg had deactivated the accounts of a number of WordPress contributors over alleged plans to fork the open supply software program.
Do you’ve got extra data? You may attain Sarah Perez at sarahp@techcrunch.com or @sarahperez.01 on Sign.
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