Sources say Automattic’s board is out after failed attempt to oust CEO Matt Mullenweg
- ID
- 24239
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 14 Sep 2026, 11:34 PM
- Fetched
- 15 Sep 2026, 5:49 AM
- Provider
- TechCrunch
- Category
- technology
- Original URL
- https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/14/sources-say-automattics-board-is-out-after-failed-attempt-to-oust-ceo-matt-mullenweg/
- Source URL
- https://techcrunch.com/feed/
Summary
- Score
- 4.0
- Created
- 15 Sep 2026, 5:52 AM
- Tags
- Audience
- developerssaas_founders
What happened
Automattic's entire board has departed after attempting to place CEO Matt Mullenweg on paid leave. Mullenweg reasserted control, reportedly removing board members Toni Schneider (founding CEO, now leading Bluesky), Sue Decker, and Gen. Ann Dunwoody, with Decker's LinkedIn confirming her tenure ended September 2026.
Why it matters
WordPress powers roughly 40% of the web, so governance instability at its parent company is worth monitoring if you build on WordPress, WooCommerce, or Jetpack. No immediate technical action is required, but founders evaluating CMS or e-commerce platform dependencies should factor this ongoing leadership turmoil into long-term stack decisions.
Discussion angle
How much platform risk should builders tolerate when a single-personality-driven company controls critical open-source infrastructure they depend on?