This week, Mullenweg posted about a board meeting<\/a> but didn\u2019t share who he was meeting with. Now he\u2019s finally informing Automattic employees of the board changes via the company\u2019s announcements channel in Slack.<\/p>\n Sources told TechCrunch the new Automattic board includes: <\/p>\n American writer Hugh Howey, author of the \u201cSilo\u201d book series. (Mullenweg and Howey both hiked along the Camino de Santiago<\/a> in Spain back in 2018.)<\/p>\n \u201cBreakup Bootcamp\u201d author Amy Chan (who recently reposted<\/a> Mullenweg\u2019s tweet about the company\u2019s AI site builder, Spacefast<\/a>).<\/p>\n IRL co-founder Henry Khachatryan, who Mullenweg described as a \u201cfounder and builder,\u201d a longtime collaborator<\/a> with the late technology writer Om Malik<\/a>, and the website builder of journalist Nick Bilton<\/a>.<\/p>\n And Krutal Desai, who co-founded the social app IRL with Khachatryan.<\/p>\n We should note that IRL shut down after investigations revealed<\/a> 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<\/a> after SoftBank had sued for securities fraud<\/a>.<\/p>\n A slew of new advisers have also joined, including Curio Studio co-founder Jaime Waydo, June co-founder Matt Van Horn, and KISSmetrics co-founder Hiten Shah.<\/p>\n In the announcement to staff, Mullenweg reportedly wrote that, \u201cfor purposes of Delaware law, I am the CEO, President, Treasurer, and Secretary,\u201d adding that the attempted firing had also brought in \u201cmany amazing supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe had the most interesting board meeting in a decade (since the Woo acquisition),\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Reached for comment, Automattic said it hoped to have a comment for TechCrunch soon.<\/p>\n Automattic\u2019s original board had voted to put Mullenweg on paid leave, but he took back control of the company, letting go of those involved in what he described on X as a \u201ccoup attempt.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n To replace the board, Mullenweg leveraged his voting shares \u2014 he controls 84%<\/a> of the vote, he said at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. The period between his departure and return lasted exactly \u201c33 hours and 20 minutes,\u201d Automattic told TechCrunch previously.<\/p>\n Following the failed board vote, member\u00a0Toni Schneider,<\/a>\u00a0a founding CEO of Automattic\u00a0and now CEO of Bluesky, resigned from his board position. Mullenweg himself removed General Ann Dunwoody<\/a> from the board, and board member Sue Decker<\/a> also resigned. In addition, Mullenweg let go of Automattic CFO Mark Davies, who was slated to become interim CEO, and chief legal officer Andy Missan<\/a>, TechCrunch confirmed with sources.<\/p>\n Founder advice: If you don’t have a coup attempt every few years, you’re not hiring strong enough leaders.<\/p>\n \u2014 Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) September 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The board never publicly shared its reasons for trying to oust Mullenweg.<\/p>\n Of note, Mullenweg also replaced<\/a> Automattic\u2019s legal counsel after his return, a move that raises questions about whether the boardroom fight is tied to the company\u2019s ongoing lawsuit with hosting provider WP Engine over trademark disputes<\/a> and claims over WP Engine\u2019s lack of contribution to the WordPress open source project. (WP Engine\u2019s legal team had also accused Mullenweg this July of destroying evidence, court filings<\/a> show.)<\/p>\n In an internal message shared after the ousting and return, Mullenweg had acknowledged the chaos it caused, saying:<\/p>\n Last week, several board members formed a special committee and voted to place me on a leave of absence. They did this without advance warning and without giving me a meaningful opportunity to understand or respond to their concerns before they acted. I was denied even a brief extension to consult with independent legal counsel.<\/p>\n I took the steps necessary to reverse that action. I am back and fully in charge of the company. I am again working alongside you to make our company a success.<\/p>\n I also want to share that we have retained Susman Godfrey LLP as our new litigation counsel. Susman Godfrey is one of the top trial firms in the country, and they will be protecting our company\u2019s interests and defending us in our ongoing litigation.<\/p>\n I know this past week has been unsettling. I appreciate your patience and your continued focus on the work that matters. I will have more to share soon, but for now, know that Automattic\u2019s mission and priorities remain unchanged.<\/p>\n![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/matt-mullenweg-bling-watch.jpg\")
Image Credits:Kimberly White\/Getty Images for TechCrunch<\/p>\n