Automattic Reinstates Matt Mullenweg After 33-Hour Leave, Reversing Board Ouster
Updated
Updated · Computerworld · Sep 15
Automattic Reinstates Matt Mullenweg After 33-Hour Leave, Reversing Board Ouster
3 articles · Updated · Computerworld · Sep 15
Summary
33 hours and 20 minutes after Automattic put Matt Mullenweg on leave and named CFO Mark Davies interim CEO, the board restored him as chairman and CEO with “full support.”
The reversal followed a chaotic episode in which Mullenweg, while sidelined, used system access to remove accounts belonging to the acting CEO and others—conduct the report says would normally get most employees fired.
Automattic gave no public reason for either the initial ouster or the weekend reversal, offering only brief statements that praised Davies first and then said the company was “back to work” with Mullenweg at the helm.
The abrupt about-face has drawn comparisons to OpenAI’s 2023 Sam Altman saga and renewed scrutiny of whether tech boards can act independently when making and then quickly undoing CEO decisions.