What happened to Matt Mullenweg?
On 9th September 2026, Matt Mullenweg told Automattic employees that the company's board had voted to place him on a paid leave of absence. He said he voted against the decision and that Mark Davies had been chosen as interim CEO.
Automattic then confirmed the change in statements reported by both 404 Media and TechCrunch. The company said Mullenweg is currently on leave and that its board has confidence in Davies and the wider team.
Davies was Automattic's chief financial officer before taking the interim role. Reporting based on the internal messages says Mullenweg remains a member of Automattic's board, so this is not the same as him leaving the company altogether.
There is no WordPress CEO
You may see this story described as the WordPress CEO being placed on leave. It is an understandable shortcut, but it blurs together three different things.
| Name | What it is | What the leave changes |
|---|---|---|
| Automattic | The commercial company founded by Mullenweg | Mark Davies is now its interim CEO |
| WordPress.com | Automattic's managed hosting service | It sits inside the company now under interim leadership |
| WordPress | Open-source software maintained by a wider community | No immediate change to the project was announced |
The official WordPress.org explanation is clear: WordPress is free, open-source software owned by no individual or company, while WordPress.com is a hosted service run by Automattic. Mullenweg is both Automattic's founder and a co-founder and leader of the WordPress project. Those roles are closely connected, but they are not the same job.
What changes for the WordPress project?
For now, the public answer is that the WordPress project continues. TechCrunch reported a message from WordPress.org executive director Mary Hubbard saying Mullenweg remains the project's leader, that she remains executive director, and that teams, priorities, and work are continuing as planned.
That means the board decision at Automattic did not remove Mullenweg from his WordPress project role. It also did not announce a pause to WordPress releases, the plugin and theme directories, community teams, or work on the software itself.
There is still a practical connection. Automattic sponsors people who contribute to WordPress, and many of its products are built around the software. A lasting shift in Automattic's priorities could therefore have an effect on parts of the wider ecosystem. No such change has been confirmed as part of this announcement, so it would be speculation to say what that effect might be.
What does the Matt Mullenweg leave of absence mean for site owners?
If you run a self-hosted WordPress site, there is no technical action you need to take because of this news. Your site remains on your host, using the same WordPress installation, theme, plugins, database, and domain as it did before the board vote.
There is also no announced reason to move away from WordPress.com or another Automattic service in a rush. An interim CEO is responsible for running the company while Mullenweg is away. Customers should watch official service updates and product announcements, just as they would during any important leadership change.
The sensible steps are the ordinary ones that protect a WordPress site whatever happens at a supplier:
- keep WordPress core, plugins, and themes updated;
- maintain a current off-site backup and test that it can be restored;
- keep control of your domain, hosting, and administrator accounts;
- monitor uptime and important site changes; and
- avoid making a migration decision based only on a breaking headline.
What is still unknown?
The confirmed statements leave several important questions open. Automattic has not publicly explained why the board acted now, how long the leave will last, or whether Davies could remain CEO permanently. It has not announced a change to Mullenweg's board position, ownership, or leadership of the WordPress project.
Mullenweg described the board process in strongly worded terms in his message to employees. That is his account of the meeting, not an independently established reason for the decision. Until Automattic or its board gives more detail, the cause of the leave should be treated as unknown.
What we will watch next
The next useful information will come from official action rather than speculation: whether Automattic gives the leave a timeframe, whether Davies sets out different company priorities, and whether there are any changes to Automattic's sponsored WordPress contributions or product roadmaps.
For WordPress owners, the key point today is simple. Automattic has changed chief executive, at least for now. WordPress itself has not stopped, your site has not changed, and the open-source project says its work is continuing as planned.
Quick answers about Matt Mullenweg's leave
Is Matt Mullenweg the CEO of WordPress?
No. WordPress is an open-source software project and does not have a company CEO. Mullenweg is a WordPress co-founder and project leader, and he was the CEO of Automattic before being placed on leave.
Has Matt Mullenweg left Automattic?
No permanent departure has been announced. Automattic confirmed that Mullenweg is currently on leave, and reporting on the company's internal messages says he remains a member of its board.
Who is the interim CEO of Automattic?
Mark Davies, previously Automattic's chief financial officer, is leading the company as interim CEO while Mullenweg is on leave.
Why was Matt Mullenweg placed on leave?
Automattic has not publicly given a reason for the board's decision. Mullenweg disputed the process in a message to employees, but that does not establish why the board acted.
Does the Automattic leadership change affect my WordPress site?
No immediate technical change to self-hosted WordPress sites or the open-source project has been announced. WordPress.org's executive director said project teams, priorities, and work are continuing as planned.