Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg Placed on Paid Leave as Mark Davies Steps In as Interim Chief
Matt Mullenweg, the founder and CEO of Automattic and one of the most influential figures behind WordPress, has reportedly been placed on a paid leave of absence by the company’s board. The move, which Mullenweg said he opposed, marks a major leadership shake-up at the company best known for WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, and Pocket Casts.
According to an internal Slack message shared with employees, Mullenweg said he would not be able to attend an upcoming company meeting because Automattic’s board had voted to put him on leave. In the message, he claimed that Chief Financial Officer Mark Davies, along with board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker, acted without his support.
Mullenweg wrote that he voted against the decision and said he received the board resolution less than an hour before the meeting began. He also stated that he asked for more time to have independent legal counsel review the resolution, but that request was denied.
Mark Davies has now been named interim CEO of Automattic. Davies, who had been serving as the company’s Chief Financial Officer, will lead the business while Mullenweg is away. The company has said its board has confidence in Davies and the broader team’s ability to continue moving forward with Automattic’s priorities.
Mullenweg is reportedly still a member of Automattic’s board of directors.
WordPress.org Remains Separate From Automattic Leadership Change
While the leadership change is significant for Automattic, the open-source WordPress project appears to be continuing without disruption.
Mary Hubbard, Executive Director of WordPress, told the WordPress.org community that Mullenweg’s leave from Automattic does not affect the open-source project. She said Mullenweg remains the leader of WordPress and that the project’s teams, priorities, and ongoing work are continuing as planned.
That distinction is important because Automattic and WordPress.org are closely associated in the public eye, but they are not the same entity. Automattic is the commercial company behind WordPress.com and other products, while WordPress.org is the home of the open-source WordPress software used by millions of websites worldwide.
The clarification was likely intended to reassure developers, site owners, contributors, agencies, and businesses that rely on WordPress as their content management system.
Why Automattic’s Board Made the Move Remains Unclear
At this time, the exact reason Automattic’s board decided to place Mullenweg on leave has not been publicly explained.
The timing has drawn attention because Automattic has faced an unusually turbulent period over the past few years. Under Mullenweg’s leadership, the company has been involved in legal disputes, internal tension, layoffs, and public controversy related to the broader WordPress ecosystem.
One of the most high-profile conflicts involves WP Engine, a major WordPress hosting company. Mullenweg previously accused WP Engine of benefiting from the open-source WordPress project without contributing enough back to the community. He also pushed for WP Engine to pay a royalty fee tied to its use of the WordPress brand.
WP Engine later filed a lawsuit against Automattic and Mullenweg, accusing them of defamation and abuse of power. Automattic responded with its own counterclaims. The dispute has continued to raise questions about trademarks, open-source governance, commercial use of WordPress, and the relationship between Automattic and the wider WordPress community.
In February, WP Engine alleged that Automattic planned to pursue royalty claims against additional competitors, further intensifying the conflict.
Internal Pressure Has Been Building at Automattic
Automattic has also faced internal challenges.
In 2024, Mullenweg reportedly offered employees severance if they disagreed with his direction for the company. A total of 159 employees accepted the offer and left. The move reflected growing tension inside Automattic at a time when the company was already under pressure from public disputes and industry scrutiny.
The open-source community also experienced strain. Mullenweg previously threatened to deactivate the accounts of some WordPress.org community members after two people discussed plans to lead a fork of the WordPress project. That episode sparked debate about leadership, governance, and contributor independence within one of the world’s most widely used open-source platforms.
Then, in April 2025, Automattic laid off 16% of its workforce. The cuts reportedly affected some long-serving employees who had been with the company for more than a decade.
Employee Reactions Appear Mixed
Reactions inside and around Automattic appear to be divided. Some former employees have reportedly reached out to current staff to ask how they feel about Mullenweg’s leave.
Some employees are said to feel relieved or even pleased by the board’s decision, while others are more cautious. For many, the leadership change may bring hope for a reset. For others, it introduces a new layer of uncertainty at a company already dealing with legal battles, layoffs, and community friction.
Leadership changes at founder-led technology companies can be especially sensitive. Mullenweg has been deeply connected to Automattic’s identity since its earliest days. He co-created WordPress in 2003 and later built Automattic into one of the most important companies in the web publishing ecosystem.
What This Means for Automattic and WordPress
For Automattic, the immediate focus will likely be stability. Mark Davies steps into the interim CEO role at a critical time, with the company needing to maintain confidence among employees, customers, partners, and the WordPress community.
For WordPress users, the key message is that WordPress.org and the open-source WordPress project are not expected to be directly affected by Mullenweg’s leave from Automattic. Websites built on WordPress should continue to operate normally, and ongoing development work is expected to proceed.
Still, the broader implications could be significant. Automattic plays a major role in the WordPress ecosystem, and any major leadership change at the company can influence developers, hosting providers, plugin makers, agencies, and businesses that depend on WordPress.
Mullenweg has not publicly commented in detail beyond the internal message described by employees. Until Automattic’s board provides more information, questions will remain about why the decision was made now, how long the leave will last, and whether Mullenweg will return to his role as CEO.
For now, Automattic is entering a new chapter with Mark Davies at the helm, while the WordPress community watches closely to see what comes next.
