What Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg has described as a “coup” at the WordPress.com, Tumblr, and WooCommerce parent company has ended with Mullenweg cleansing the ranks of the board that tried to oust him, TechCrunch reported.
On Sept. 9, TechCrunch reported Automattic’s board voted to place Mullenweg on leave. Around 33 hours later, he had turned the tables, booted rival admins from the company Slack instance, and the board’s state was “in flux” (one confirmed departure was Automattic founding CEO and Bluesky CEO Toni Schneider). TechCrunch’s most recent report, from Friday, indicates that a subsequent house-clearing included the removal or resignation of two other board members and Automattic’s chief financial and legal officers (Mark Davies and Andy Missan, respectively). Mullenweg also brought on new legal counsel and a slew of new board members and advisers.
Sources told TechCrunch that Automattic’s board now includes Silo franchise author Hugh Howey, Breakup Bootcamp author Amy Chan, and IRL co-founders Henry Khachatryan and Krutal Desai. The advisers include executives and co-founders from Whoop, June, and KISSmetrics.
Mullenweg was one of WordPress’s co-creators and now runs Automattic, which competes with hosting provider WP Engine over the WordPress market. The two firms are currently locked in a long-running and bitter legal battle over trademarks and Mullenweg’s 2024 campaign labeling WP Engine a “cancer” that harms the WordPress community. WP Engine stated Mullenweg threatened “war” on “scorched earth nuclear” terms, demanding the company sign a trademark licensing agreement with Automattic.
As TechCrunch noted, in July 2026, WP Engine filed a motion for sanctions to the court handling the lawsuit, alleging Mullenweg destroyed evidence. (The document included a lengthy redacted portion ending with, “… during which Mr. Mullenweg’s disappearing or deleted messages were lost forever.” The motion claimed that Automattic had continued to insist all discovery materials had been found and provided.)
It’s not clear whether there is any connection between the lawsuit and the board upset. Mullenweg has suggested this is far from the first time he’s faced off against a corporate rebellion.
“For purposes of Delaware law, I am the CEO, President, Treasurer, and Secretary,” Mullenweg told staff in an email, according to TechCrunch. He added he had attended the “most interesting board meeting in a decade,” comparing it to the 2015 WooCommerce acquisition.
“We are living through times of unprecedented change, possibly a singularity,” Mullenweg told TechCrunch in a statement. “The next six months will determine the next 20 years of Automattic.”
Automattic didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by Gizmodo, but we’ll update this article if we hear back.
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