Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg placed on leave

Automattic has placed CEO Matt Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence, with the company’s chief financial officer, Mark Davies, stepping in as interim CEO. The move was reported earlier by 404 Media and was confirmed to The Verge by Automattic spokesperson Megan Fox, who said the board has full confidence in Davies and the team’s ability to carry out company priorities.

In messages reported by 404 Media, Mullenweg accused Davies of collaborating with board members to push the leave decision and said he opposed the board’s action. The report named Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker as members involved in the vote to ask Mullenweg to step away from the CEO role.

Mullenweg co-founded WordPress.org and has led Automattic since 2014. The company’s founder has been a polarizing figure this year after a 2024 public pressure campaign against a notable WordPress host that split parts of the open-source community and led to litigation that is still active.

According to the internal message reported by 404 Media, Schneider wrote that the board had asked Mullenweg to step aside and that Davies would assume interim leadership while Mullenweg is out. The report also says Mullenweg will remain on Automattic’s board. The Verge updated its coverage on September 9 to add Automattic’s statement confirming the leadership change.