CEO Matt Mullenweg regains control of Automattic days after ouster
What's the story
Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress and a prominent figure in the open-source community and the founder of Automattic, has claimed he was back in control of Automattic. The announcement was made via a Slack message to his team. This comes just days after the company's board voted to remove him from his position for reasons that remain unclear.
Allegations
Mullenweg accused board of 'conspiring' against him
In his initial message, Mullenweg accused Automattic's board members of "conspiring" against him by voting to place him on paid leave.
He also revealed that Mark Davies, the company's CFO, had been appointed as interim CEO during this period.
The claim was later confirmed by an Automattic spokesperson who said Mullenweg was on leave and Davies had taken over as interim CEO.
Return announcement
'I'm in control of Automattic'
On Friday, Mullenweg claimed he was back in control of Automattic in a new message on Automattic's Slack.
He said, "Howdy everybody! Happy to announce the board is back in agreement, and I'm in control of Automattic."
He added that a lot had happened in the last 48 hours that needed sorting out and hoped it was mostly a misunderstanding.
Online activity
Mullenweg pushes back against speculation
After his unexpected ouster as CEO, Mullenweg's public and private social media posts hinted that he was not done fighting the decision.
On Reddit, he pushed back against speculation about what his leave of absence could mean for the open-source community.
He also said "things are different than they appear" on X and was looking for sysadmins and security researchers to help move some of his data/services hosted at Automattic elsewhere.
Suspicion raised
Silver Lake involved in plan to 'destroy' his life
Mullenweg also hinted on both platforms that Silver Lake, the majority owner of WP Engine, was involved in the plan to "destroy" his life.
Automattic and Mullenweg are currently engaged in a legal battle with WP Engine.
Despite the ongoing conflict, Mullenweg said, "A lot happened in the past 48 hours that we need to sort out, and I hope much of it was a misunderstanding, because I have huge respect and regard for those involved."