Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of WordPress.com owner Automattic, has been placed on a paid leave of absence, as reported earlier by 404 Media. In an internal message, Mullenweg claims Automattic chief financial officer Mark Davies “conspired” with board members to put him on leave. The move comes after a year of public conflict for Mullenweg, who waged a pressure campaign against a prominent WordPress host in 2024 that divided the open-source community and sparked a legal battle still ongoing today.
Mullenweg’s claim
Mullenweg says the decision was not his own. “They voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that,” he wrote, referring to Davies, along with Automattic board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker, 404 Media reports.
The accusation of conspiracy is the sharpest detail in the story so far. Mullenweg did not specify what he believes Davies and the board members coordinated, or how, beyond the vote itself. He did not say whether the leave is connected to the dispute with the WordPress host that has consumed much of his attention over the past year.
The leave is paid, according to Mullenweg’s account. The exact terms and duration have not been announced. Mullenweg will remain on Automattic’s board while on leave, 404 Media reports.
The vote itself raises immediate questions about governance at Automattic. Mullenweg has been the company’s public face since he took over leadership in 2014, and a board decision to sideline him — even temporarily — marks a significant shift in how the company is run. The fact that he voted against the move suggests the decision was not unanimous, and the internal friction is now public.
Automattic’s response
Automattic spokesperson Megan Fox confirmed the company’s decision in an emailed statement to The Verge. “Matt Mullenweg is currently on leave from Automattic,” Fox writes. “Mark Davies, Automattic’s CFO, will lead the company as interim CEO. The Board has full confidence in Mark’s leadership and in the team’s ability to execute against the company’s priorities.”
“We have asked Mark Davies to assume the interim CEO role while Matt is out.”
Schneider, a board member, addressed the move on the company’s internal message board, according to 404 Media. “Automattic’s board has decided to ask Matt to step away from his CEO role and take a leave of absence,” he said. “We have asked Mark Davies to assume the interim CEO role while Matt is out. We’ve worked closely with Mark over the years and we’re confident he will steer the ship well while Matt is away.”
The statement from Fox and the message from Schneider present a unified board decision. Mullenweg’s own account disputes that framing. The board’s version describes a request; Mullenweg’s version describes a vote he opposed. Those are materially different descriptions of the same event, and the distinction matters for how the departure is understood.
Fox’s statement is notable for what it does not include. It does not mention the vote Mullenweg described, nor does it address his claim of conspiracy. It does not say when Mullenweg might return, or whether his return is expected at all. The statement frames the leave as a settled matter, with Davies in charge and the board behind him.
The dispute behind the leave
Mullenweg’s conflict with the WordPress host began in 2024. He launched a public pressure campaign against the prominent host, a move that divided the open-source community and ignited a legal battle that’s still going on today. That campaign drew attention from developers, users, and the broader tech industry, though the source does not quantify its reach.
No causal link between that dispute and the leave has been established. What is known is the sequence: the board voted, Mullenweg opposed the vote, and Davies now runs the company on an interim basis. The board’s decision to place Mullenweg on leave is a major development for the company and the broader WordPress community. No further explanation has been given beyond the statements quoted above.
The timing is worth noting. The legal battle from 2024 remains unresolved, and Mullenweg’s leave comes while that fight is still active. Whether the two are connected has not been stated by any party involved. The source material does not draw a line between them, and no one quoted has suggested one.
The people involved
Matt Mullenweg is the central figure. He co-founded WordPress.org and has led Automattic since 2014. His role in both the commercial company and the open-source project made him a central figure in the WordPress ecosystem.
Mark Davies is the CFO and now interim CEO. He steps into the role, according to Automattic’s statement. Schneider’s message says the board has “worked closely with Mark over the years,” and the board’s confidence in him is explicit in both the statement and the internal message.
Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker are the board members Mullenweg named as voting against him. Schneider also spoke publicly on the internal message board, offering the board’s perspective on the decision. His message was measured and supportive of Davies, describing the arrangement as temporary and expressing confidence in the team.
Megan Fox is the Automattic spokesperson who confirmed the decision in a statement to The Verge. Her statement is the company’s most detailed public comment on the matter.
No comment from Davies, Dunwoody, or Decker directly has been made public. Their positions on the matter are only known through Mullenweg’s account and the board’s collective statement. Davies has not spoken publicly about his new role, and Dunwoody and Decker have not addressed the vote Mullenweg described.
What happens next
Davies assumes the interim CEO role. The board has expressed confidence in his leadership, and Mullenweg stays on the board while on leave. That arrangement leaves Mullenweg with a seat at the table even as he steps away from day-to-day operations.
Automattic’s statement offers no timeline. Schneider’s internal message offers no timeline either. How long the leave will last, whether Mullenweg will return to the CEO role, and what conditions, if any, would end the leave have not been disclosed. The company has not said whether the leave is open-ended or tied to a specific review process.
The story is still developing. For now, the facts are these: Mullenweg is on paid leave, Davies is interim CEO, and Mullenweg says the vote was not his choice. The board says it asked Mullenweg to step away. Those two accounts are not the same.
Automattic is the company behind WordPress.com. Any change in leadership at the company’s top carries weight for the users and developers who depend on the platform.
The legal battle from 2024 remains unresolved. Mullenweg’s leave does not resolve it, and no one has suggested it will. What the leave does change is the leadership structure at Automattic, at least for now. Davies will steer the company while Mullenweg is out, and the board has made clear it backs that arrangement. Whether Mullenweg returns, and under what terms, has not been said.
Source: theverge.com
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