Matt Mullenweg Appoints New Board at Automattic Following Failed Leadership Coup

Automattic chief executive Matt Mullenweg has formed a new board of directors only weeks after surviving an internal effort by the company’s previous leadership to remove him from power, TechCrunch reported. The executive announced the appointments to employees on Friday via an internal Slack communications channel, cementing his absolute authority over the parent organization behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, and Tumblr.

The boardroom restructuring follows a brief but intense corporate confrontation earlier in September. The former board had established a special committee and voted without warning to place Mullenweg on paid leave, attempting to push him out of operational oversight. However, the founder reversed the maneuver within exactly 33 hours and 20 minutes, drawing upon his commanding 84 percent voting share to dismiss directors and accept resignations from those who backed the motion.

According to reports confirmed by TechCrunch, the reconstituted governing group features an unusual roster that includes a best-selling science fiction writer along with two co-founders of IRL, the shuttered social networking platform that collapsed following disclosures that its active user base consisted almost entirely of automated bots. Automattic has also engaged several new external advisers, including former Whoop chief technology officer Jaime Waydo, June co-founder Matt Van Horn, and KISSmetrics co-founder Hiten Shah.

A Total Reshuffle of Executive and Board Leadership

In his communication to staff, Mullenweg confirmed the thorough consolidation of his corporate titles, noting that under Delaware legal definitions, he now holds the roles of chief executive officer, president, treasurer, and secretary. He characterized the recent session with the new directors as the most compelling board gathering the firm had held in a decade, dating back to its acquisition of WooCommerce.

The previous board never disclosed the precise grievances or operational concerns that prompted its bid to suspend the founder. Following the failed action, director Toni Schneider, an early Automattic chief executive who currently leads decentralized social platform Bluesky, stepped down from his seat. Fellow board member Sue Decker also resigned, while Mullenweg directly removed retired general Ann Dunwoody. The purge extended into top executive ranks: Automattic dismissed chief financial officer Mark Davies, who had been designated to step in as interim chief executive, as well as chief legal officer Andy Missan.

Following his reinstatement, Mullenweg posted on social platform X that founders who do not face coup attempts every few years are failing to hire sufficiently strong leaders. He later stated to TechCrunch that the company is navigating an era of unprecedented transformation, remarking that the upcoming six months will shape the subsequent two decades of Automattic’s future.

Alongside the governance shakeup, Automattic replaced its legal representation, bringing on trial firm Susman Godfrey LLP. The legal changes come amidst fierce ongoing litigation against commercial hosting provider WP Engine regarding trademark rights and open-source contributions to WordPress, a dispute in which WP Engine lawyers previously leveled evidence-destruction accusations against Mullenweg in court records.

What This Means

Mullenweg’s decisive counter-offensive underscores the near-invulnerability of tech founders who retain supermajority voting equity. Even when an established corporate board composed of seasoned business figures and independent directors reaches unanimous agreement to sideline executive leadership, dual-class share structures render formal governance checks largely decorative. By leveraging his 84 percent voting tally, Mullenweg demonstrated that traditional oversight mechanisms have no functional leverage over his tenure.

At the same time, centralizing the offices of president, CEO, secretary, and treasurer in a single individual represents an extreme consolidation of administrative authority. While this removes internal resistance and allows Mullenweg to pursue his agenda unhindered, it strips away standard corporate guardrails during an exceptionally volatile chapter. Automattic faces high-stakes federal litigation against WP Engine and ongoing industry fallout regarding the governance of the WordPress ecosystem.

Staffing the board with unconventional figures, including founders from a defunct startup marred by bot fraud controversies, also raises significant questions about institutional direction. With his internal opposition routed and veteran corporate voices departed, Mullenweg has eliminated any barrier between his personal judgment and the operational execution of Automattic’s multi-platform enterprise.