Automattic has rebuilt its board in the wake of a failed internal attempt to remove CEO Matt Mullenweg, marking the latest and most visible turn in a governance struggle that has shaken the company behind WordPress.com, Tumblr, WooCommerce and other major internet properties.
The new board was announced to staff on Friday, according to people familiar with the matter, and Mullenweg later confirmed the changes. The lineup is unusually eclectic: it includes best-selling science-fiction author Hugh Howey, author of the Silo series; author and relationship coach Amy Chan; and two co-founders of the now-defunct social app IRL, Henry Khachatryan and Krutal Desai. New advisers have also joined Automattic, among them former Whoop CTO Jaime Waydo, June co-founder Matt Van Horn and KISSmetrics co-founder Hiten Shah.
The board overhaul follows a turbulent sequence that began earlier this month, when Automattic's previous directors voted to place Mullenweg on leave in an effort to remove him from the board. That move collapsed almost immediately. Mullenweg regained control of the company just 33 hours later, according to Automattic, and then removed or accepted the resignations of the directors involved in the effort. The episode underscored the extent of his power inside the company: at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, Mullenweg said he controls 84% of the vote.
In a message to employees shared through Automattic's Slack announcements channel, Mullenweg reportedly wrote, "for purposes of Delaware law, I am the CEO, President, Treasurer, and Secretary," a statement that signaled both the legal consolidation of authority and the extraordinary nature of the company's current governance structure. He also described the attempted firing as having brought in "many amazing supporters," and said, "We had the most interesting board meeting in a decade (since the Woo acquisition)."
After publication, Mullenweg confirmed the board additions and advisers and offered a broader view of the moment, saying: "We are living through times of unprecedented change, possibly a singularity. The next six months will determine the next 20 years of Automattic."
The new board's composition reflects both Mullenweg's personal network and the company's willingness to lean on founders and creators with unconventional backgrounds. Howey and Mullenweg reportedly hiked together along the Camino de Santiago in Spain in 2018. Chan recently reposted Mullenweg's tweet about Automattic's AI site builder, Spacefast. Khachatryan was described by Mullenweg as a "founder and builder," and as a longtime collaborator with the late technology writer Om Malik, as well as the website builder of journalist Nick Bilton.
The inclusion of the former IRL founders also draws attention to a controversial chapter in startup history. IRL shut down after investigations found that nearly all of its user base was made up of bots. The co-founders, who also included CEO Abraham Shafi, later sued SoftBank and other investors after SoftBank filed a securities fraud suit of its own. Their arrival at Automattic suggests Mullenweg is assembling a board and advisory circle that prizes product-building instincts and founder loyalty as much as conventional corporate governance experience.
The fallout from the failed board vote has already been significant. Toni Schneider, a founding CEO of Automattic and now CEO of Bluesky, resigned from the board after the attempted ouster. Mullenweg also removed retired General Ann Dunwoody from the board, while board member Sue Decker resigned. Automattic CFO Mark Davies, who had been slated to become interim CEO, was let go, along with chief legal officer Andy Missan, according to TechCrunch.
Automattic told TechCrunch it hoped to have a comment soon, but the company's silence has only amplified the sense of instability around one of the internet's most influential software firms. The dispute is not simply about one executive's future. It raises broader questions about founder control, board independence and how a privately held technology company navigates succession, accountability and strategic direction when one person holds overwhelming voting power.
For Automattic, the next phase appears to be less about whether Mullenweg remains in charge than about how he chooses to govern. With a rebuilt board, a new set of advisers and a CEO who has publicly reclaimed the reins, the company is entering a period in which internal loyalty, legal authority and strategic urgency are all tightly intertwined. Mullenweg's own framing suggests he sees the moment as existential. Whether the new board can provide stability, or merely another chapter in a prolonged power struggle, may determine the company's trajectory for years to come.