Automattic places Matt Mullenweg on leave, names Mark Davies interim CEO
Automattic has placed founder and chief executive Matt Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence and named chief financial officer Mark Davies as interim CEO. The company confirmed the change after Mullenweg told employees in a Slack channel that he had voted against the board resolution.
Mullenweg wrote that Davies and board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider and Sue Decker had voted to put him on leave. He said he received the resolution 50 minutes before the meeting and that requests for time to seek independent legal advice were denied.
In its statement, Automattic said Davies would lead the company on an interim basis and that the board had full confidence in his leadership and in the team’s ability to execute its priorities. Davies also told employees that Mullenweg remains a member of Automattic’s board of directors.
WordPress.org says its work is unaffected
The leadership change applies to Automattic, the commercial company founded by Mullenweg in 2003 after he co-created the open-source WordPress content management system. Automattic’s brands include WordPress.com, Tumblr, WooCommerce and Pocket Casts.
Mary Hubbard, executive director of the WordPress project, told the WordPress.org community that the open-source project was not affected. She said Mullenweg remains leader of the WordPress project, while she remains its executive director, and that teams, priorities and work would continue as planned.
The available statements do not explain why Automattic’s board took the action. Toni Schneider, Automattic’s former CEO from 2006 to 2014, confirmed to 404 Media that the board initiated it.
Change follows a period of legal and organisational pressure
Automattic has been engaged in a legal dispute with WordPress hosting competitor WP Engine. The dispute followed Mullenweg’s allegation that WP Engine profited from WordPress without contributing to the community, alongside his demand for a royalty payment equal to 8% of its monthly gross revenue for use of the WordPress brand.
WP Engine sued in October 2024, accusing Automattic and Mullenweg of defamation and abuse of power. Automattic filed counterclaims last year, and WP Engine said in February that Automattic intended to pursue royalty claims against 10 more competitors.
Other recent developments included a 16% staff reduction in April 2025. In 2024, Mullenweg told employees who disagreed with him that they could leave with severance, and 159 employees did so. He also threatened to deactivate accounts of several WordPress.org community members after two said they intended to lead a fork of the open-source project.
What customers and partners should watch
Automattic has stated that operational priorities remain in place under Davies, and WordPress.org has said its project work continues as planned. Businesses relying on WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr or Pocket Casts should monitor official product and support communications while keeping ownership, escalation paths and continuity plans current during the interim leadership period.