Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg 'forced' into leave of absence by WordPress parent company board

Matt Mullenweg accuses Automattic board of conspiring against him Former CEO is now in a period of paid leave His role at WordPress.org is currently unaffected Automattic CEO and founder Matt Mullenweg has been placed on a paid leave of absence by the company's board, but while this is currently bei

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>Matt Mullenweg accuses Automattic board of conspiring against him</strong></li><li><strong>Former CEO is now in a period of paid leave</strong></li><li><strong>His role at WordPress.org is currently unaffected</strong></li></ul><p>Automattic CEO and founder Matt Mullenweg has been placed on a paid leave of absence by the company's board, but while this is currently being seen as a temporary measure, Automattic has not publicly stated how long the leave will last.</p><p>The reason for the board's decision remains unclear, but <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/09/automattics-board-forces-ceo-matt-mullenweg-into-leave-of-absence/" target="_blank"><em>TechCrunch</em></a> reports that some employees were "ecstatic" or "relieved" at the decision.</p><p>However, Mullenweg is clearly unhappy with the decision, alleging that the board gave him 50 minutes' notice before the meeting and insufficient time to seek legal counsel.</p><h2 id="automattic-ceo-matt-mullenweg-on-paid-absence">Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg on paid absence</h2><p>Mullenweg remains a member of Automattic's board, but claimed in a company-wide Slack message seen by <em>TechCrunch</em> that CFO Mark Davies had "conspired" with board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider and Sue Decker to remove him temporarily. Mullenweg, a board member, voted against the change but was, of course, outvoted. Davies has been appointed interim CEO in the meantime.</p><p>"I won’t be able to make the [meeting] tomorrow. @Mark Davies has conspired with @Ann Dunwoody, @Toni, and @Sue Decker behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence," he said.</p><p>"Matt remains the leader of the WordPress project and I remain Executive Director of WordPress. Our teams, priorities, and work continue as planned," WordPress.org executive director Mary Hubbard wrote. WordPress.com (an Automattic product) runs on WordPress.org.</p><p>While the reasons have not been publicly shared, Mullenweg hasn't been short of the odd high-profile incident in recent years. He <a href="https://www.techradar.com/pro/wp-engine-automattic-feud-resurfaces-with-new-claims-of-royalty-fees-and-contract-threats">accused WP Engine of profiting from the WordPress ecosystem</a>, which resulted in <a href="https://www.techradar.com/pro/i-think-emdash-was-created-to-sell-more-cloudflare-services-wordpress-co-founder-matt-mullenweg-gives-his-verdict-on-cloudflares-emdash">WP Engine suing Automattic and Mullenweg</a>.</p><p>He also offered insiders who disagreed with his direction an exit package worth either six months' pay or $30,000, mounting internal tensions.</p><p><em>TechRadar Pro</em> has sought further information from Automattic, but the company did not immediately respond.</p><figure class="van-image-figure pull-right inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:676px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:31.51%;"><img id="diM9tpwF2Lz85R8q85CT78" name="tr-g_news" alt="Google logo on a black background next to text reading 'Click to follow TechRadar'" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/diM9tpwF2Lz85R8q85CT78.jpg" mos="" align="right" fullscreen="" width="676" height="213" attribution="" endorsement="" class="pull-rightinline"></p></div></div></figure> </article> ]]>