Automattic's interim CEO and legal chief signed reciprocal severance deals during Mullenweg's brief ouster
TechCrunch·2026-09-17 03:35

Last week, on September 9, Automattic’s board voted to put CEO Matt Mullenweg on paid leave, a decision the board still hasn’t explained publicly. Mullenweg, in a company-wide Slack message, accused CFO Mark Davies of “conspiring” with three board members behind his back to force the vote through, saying he was given only 50 minutes’ notice and was denied time to have the resolution reviewed by outside legal counsel. He returned to the role roughly 33 hours later, and the same board members who voted him ou ...

Automattic's interim CEO and legal chief signed reciprocal severance deals during Mullenweg's brief ouster - Reportify