From TechCrunch · Sarah Perez · · 1m 30s
Matt Mullenweg says he's back, and a pirate
Automattic's board voted to sideline its founder. A week later, he's CEO again and calling himself a pirate.
In brief
Automattic's board voted to sideline its founder. A week later, he's CEO again and calling himself a pirate. A board vote only removes a founder if the founder agrees to leave. Mullenweg kept the Slack admin keys and simply stayed. Originally reported by TechCrunch.
He never really left
Automattic told TechCrunch on Saturday evening that Matt Mullenweg is chairman and CEO again, days after the board voted him out.
“Matt Mullenweg is the chairman and CEO of Automattic, with full support of the board”
The board moved first
Earlier in the week, Automattic's board voted to put Mullenweg on paid leave. No reason was given, publicly or to him.
A CFO in the chair
On Wednesday the company confirmed the removal and named CFO Mark Davies interim CEO, with what it called the board's full confidence.
He kept the keys
Mullenweg booted other admins from the company Slack and told staff he was back in control. Sources say the board's plan fell apart from there.
“If this is an HR problem, please wrangle me in since my normal wranglers are with Mark Davies”
I'm a pirate now
He posted profanity in Slack, something he was known for never doing. Asked if the CEO claim was trolling, he said he was a pirate, obviously.
“I'm not a troll I'm a pirate, obviously”
The promised post was a houseboat
He told TechCrunch a blog post would explain things. It turned out to be about buying a houseboat. He never formally commented on his return.
The board is still moving
Founding CEO Toni Schneider, now running Bluesky, is reported to have stepped down. Mullenweg says this is roughly the fifth coup he has survived.
The big picture
A board vote only removes a founder if the founder agrees to leave. Mullenweg kept the Slack admin keys and simply stayed.
