Matt Mullenweg returns as Automattic CEO after two days

Matt Mullenweg returns after a 48-hour reversal

The first announcement came on 9th September 2026. Mullenweg told Automattic employees that the company's board had voted to place him on paid leave and appoint chief financial officer Mark Davies as interim CEO. Automattic then confirmed both parts of that change to reporters.

By early 11th September, the position had changed again. In a company-wide Slack message seen by TechCrunch and reported separately by 404 Media, Mullenweg said the board was back in agreement and that he was in control of Automattic. He described the previous 48 hours as something the company still needed to sort out.

As The Verge reported, Mary Hubbard, Executive Director of the open-source WordPress project, then said publicly that she was relieved and pleased to see Mullenweg return as Automattic CEO. The official WordPress social account shared her message, and Mullenweg reposted it.

What is confirmed and what is still unclear?

The story moved so quickly that the clearest way to understand it is to separate public confirmation from unanswered questions.

This distinction matters because Automattic had previously issued a direct statement confirming Mullenweg's leave and Davies's appointment. Reporting on the return includes Mullenweg's internal message and Hubbard's public response, but not a detailed statement from Automattic's board explaining a formal vote or resolution.

That does not make the return meaningless. It does mean claims about who persuaded whom, what legal powers were used, or why the board changed course would be speculation until the people involved provide evidence.

Why was Matt Mullenweg out as CEO for only two days?

There is no confirmed public answer. When the board placed Mullenweg on leave, Automattic did not give a reason or a planned end date. When he announced his return, Mullenweg said he hoped much of what happened had been a misunderstanding, but he did not explain what the misunderstanding was.

The available reports describe a sharp disagreement at the top of a private company. They do not establish the full sequence of board decisions, changes in voting support, or negotiations that produced the reversal. Mullenweg's public posts about attempted coups add colour, but they are not a substitute for a corporate account of what happened.

Automattic and WordPress are connected, but not the same

The rapid change has again produced headlines that treat Automattic and WordPress as one organisation. They are not. Automattic is the private company behind services and products including WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, Jetpack and Beeper. WordPress is free, open-source software developed through a broader project and community.

The official WordPress.org guide explains the practical difference between the open-source software and Automattic's WordPress.com hosting service. Mullenweg holds influential roles on both sides: he founded and leads Automattic, and he is a WordPress co-founder and project leader. A change to one role does not automatically rewrite the other.

This is why our earlier report on Mullenweg's leave of absence did not tell site owners to expect WordPress itself to stop. The company leadership story has reversed. The distinction between the company and the project has not.

What does Mullenweg's return mean for WordPress owners?

For somebody running a WordPress website, there is still no immediate technical action to take. The change did not alter your WordPress installation, hosting account, plugins, theme, database or domain. No WordPress release was cancelled, and no interruption to the plugin or theme directories was announced as part of the dispute.

Customers of Automattic products may reasonably want clearer leadership information, particularly after two changes in two days. The useful signals will be operational ones: official product notices, service status, roadmap changes and direct customer communication. A dramatic internal message is not, by itself, a reason to move a working website in a hurry.

Good site ownership remains the practical answer to uncertainty around any supplier:

• keep independent, current backups and test that they can be restored;
• retain control of your domain, hosting and administrator accounts;
• keep WordPress core, plugins and themes updated;
• monitor uptime, security and unexpected site changes; and
• base migration decisions on service evidence, not boardroom speculation.

What happens next at Automattic?

Mullenweg is back at the top of the company, but the speed of the reversal leaves larger questions behind. It is not publicly clear whether the board's concerns have been resolved, whether its membership or working relationship will change, or what happens next for Davies.

The most useful next step would be a clear company statement that sets out the current leadership and gives employees, customers and partners a stable point of reference. Until then, the responsible conclusion is narrower: Mullenweg has returned as Automattic CEO, the open-source WordPress project continues, and the reason for one of the shortest executive departures in recent memory remains unexplained.