Automattic Confirms Mullenweg Remains CEO After Brief Leave
Automattic confirmed on Saturday, Sept. 12, that "Matt Mullenweg is the chairman and CEO of Automattic with full support of the board." TechCrunch The confirmation followed a board vote earlier in the week to place Mullenweg on paid leave of absence.
The company shared that statement by email just after 5 p.m. ET on Saturday. It is the most recent formal word on who holds the CEO role. It followed the interim structure described on Wednesday.
That interim structure was put in place on Wednesday. The board voted that day to place Mullenweg on paid leave, meaning he temporarily stepped aside while still employed and paid. The company said then that Chief Financial Officer Mark Davies, the executive in charge of finances, would lead as interim CEO with the full confidence of the board.
Mullenweg had already told staff in a Slack message, the company's internal chat tool, that he had been reinstated as CEO two days after being placed on leave. The Verge That internal notice came before the formal Saturday confirmation.
Automattic is the parent company of WordPress.com. Mullenweg is the founder of WordPress. Davies is the Chief Financial Officer of Automattic.
The broader context here is useful for tech teams that depend on stable vendors. A leave order and an interim CEO appointment are formal decisions with legal weight. A Slack note to staff is day-to-day communication. An emailed public statement confirms who is accountable to outsiders. Only that last step settles who can sign contracts and who answers when systems fail, and this week that answer was open for several days.
In my view, the speed of the reversal matters more than the drama. Leadership changed twice in the same week. That kind of quick switch can pause product plans, delay support escalations, and stall hiring. No customer can fully avoid disruption from a vendor reorganization, but teams can ask for clarity on contracts, security reviews, and support. A direct statement of board support, as happened here, limits the practical damage and helps customers, staff, and partners plan again.
