AUTOMATTIC CEO CLAIMS CFO ORCHESTRATED OUSTER

AI DESK■ 1 MIN READ

WED, SEP 9, 2026

■ AI-SUMMARIZED FROM 4 SOURCES ▸ TIMELINE

Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg has accused CFO Mark Davies of conspiring with board members to place him on paid leave. Davies was voted in as interim CEO following the board decision.

In a company-wide Slack message, Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress.com owner Automattic, stated that Davies worked with board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker to engineer his removal. "They voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that," Mullenweg wrote. The move marks a significant governance conflict at the web publishing platform company. Mullenweg did not provide details on the reasons behind the board's decision or the length of the paid leave. The dispute comes amid broader leadership upheaval in tech. Meta AI researcher Andrew Tulloch is departing the company after being among its highest-paid employees, while Consensys announced plans to split into two independent entities, with MetaMask operating under Joe Lubin's leadership.

■ SOURCES

► Techmeme ► Techmeme ► The Verge ► Techmeme

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AUTOMATTIC CEO CLAIMS CFO ORCHESTRATED OUSTER

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