The board of Automattic voted on September 9, 2026 to place Matt Mullenweg, the company’s chief executive, on a paid leave of absence. Chief financial officer Mark Davies took over as interim CEO.
Mullenweg broke the news himself, in a message to the whole company. He wrote that Davies “conspired” with fellow directors “behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence.” He also made clear where he stood: “They voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that.” The other directors he named were Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider and Sue Decker.
His procedural objection is specific. He says the board resolution reached him 50 minutes before the meeting started, and that he asked repeatedly for time to have it reviewed by independent legal counsel. By his account, that request went nowhere.
The company’s public line is four sentences shorter than the drama deserves. An Automattic spokesperson said: “Matt Mullenweg is currently on leave from Automattic. Mark Davies, Automattic’s CFO, will lead the company as interim CEO.” Schneider confirmed the board had asked Mullenweg to step away, adding, “We have asked Mark Davies to assume the interim CEO role while Matt is out.” No public source has stated the board’s reasoning.
The open-source side is not changing hands. Mullenweg remains a director of Automattic, and he keeps his role at WordPress.org, which he co-founded and which sits outside the company. Mary Hubbard, executive director of the WordPress project, put it plainly: “Matt remains the leader of the WordPress project and I remain Executive Director of WordPress.” Mullenweg has headed up Automattic since 2014.
The timing matters, because the company is in the middle of a fight it picked itself.
- The WP Engine litigation has been running since October 2024. Automattic sued the rival host over trademark misuse, and WP Engine countersued, alleging defamation and abuse of power.
- The trigger was a licensing demand. In September 2024, Mullenweg asked WP Engine for a trademark license priced at 8% of the host’s monthly gross revenue, estimated at roughly US$32 million.
- It may not stop at one rival. In February 2026, WP Engine claimed Automattic planned to target 10 additional competitors with royalty demands.
The company Davies inherits has been contracting. In October 2024, 159 employees accepted severance packages after Mullenweg issued an ultimatum to staff who disagreed with his direction. In April 2025, Automattic cut about 16% of its workforce, roughly 280 people, saying it needed to improve profitability even as revenue grew. WordPress’s share of the web has slipped as well, from 43.6% in mid-2025 to 42.2% in May 2026.
Automattic’s portfolio still includes WordPress.com, Tumblr, WooCommerce and Pocket Casts, and none of that moves. What moves is the signature on strategy while the founder is out. Nobody has said how long that will be.
