Automattic has undergone a major board and executive shakeup after directors unsuccessfully attempted to remove CEO Matt Mullenweg from control of the company last week. Toni Schneider and Sue Decker have resigned from the board, while Mullenweg removed Gen. Ann Dunwoody, according to multiple sources familiar with the changes.
The departures follow a board vote that placed Mullenweg on paid leave and named CFO Mark Davies as interim CEO. Automattic later confirmed that Mullenweg had returned with the board’s full support after being away for 33 hours and 20 minutes.
Directors Who Backed Leave Have Departed
Schneider, Automattic’s founding CEO and current Bluesky CEO, has removed language from his personal website identifying himself as an Automattic board member and special advisor. Decker has updated her LinkedIn profile to show that her tenure on the board ended in September 2026.
Dunwoody was removed by Mullenweg rather than resigning. Automattic has declined to discuss the individual departures, and its official board page had not yet reflected all of the changes when the departures were reported.
All three directors had been involved in the decision to place Mullenweg on leave. After the vote, Mullenweg accused board members of conspiring against him in an internal Slack message and subsequently told employees that the dispute had been resolved and he was back in control.
Automattic later publicly confirmed his return. The company said it was thankful for the departing directors’ contributions and remained focused on operating with Mullenweg leading the company.
Senior Executives Also Leave Automattic
The changes extend beyond the board. Chief legal officer Andy Missan has updated his LinkedIn profile to show that he left Automattic in September, while Davies, who had been selected to serve as interim CEO during Mullenweg’s leave, has also been dismissed, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Automattic has not publicly explained what caused directors to vote against Mullenweg. The company behind WordPress.com is separately involved in continuing litigation with WordPress hosting provider WP Engine, but there is no confirmed connection between that dispute and the board action.
WP Engine has accused Mullenweg and Automattic of several forms of misconduct during the dispute, including an allegation in a recent court filing that Mullenweg destroyed evidence contained in messaging apps. Mullenweg has also accused WP Engine of trademark infringement and of failing to contribute sufficiently to the open-source WordPress project.
Automattic is expected to provide employees with information about its new board composition following the departures. The company has not yet publicly identified who will replace Schneider, Decker or Dunwoody.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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