Automattic CEO Returned After a 33-Hour, 20-Minute Absence

Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg is back after being away for 33 hours and 20 minutes, as a federal judge separately allowed antitrust claims in WP Engine’s case against the company to proceed.

Automattic’s board voted Sept. 9 to place Mullenweg on paid leave and appoint CFO Mark Davies interim CEO. The company has not publicly explained the vote.

In a message to employees on Slack, Mullenweg said, “I voted against that.” He said he received the resolution 50 minutes before the meeting and was not given time to consult outside counsel.

Automattic later said Mullenweg was away for 33 hours and 20 minutes and that the company was “back to work.” Its board lists Ann Dunwoody, Sue Decker and Toni Schneider as board emeritus, with their service ending in 2026. Davies and chief legal officer Andy Missan also left the company.

Automattic operates WordPress.com and other web businesses. WP Engine hosts websites built with WordPress. The companies’ dispute includes issues involving trademark use, access to WordPress.org resources and competition in the hosting market. WP Engine filed suit Oct. 2, 2024, and added antitrust claims in an amended complaint Nov. 14.

On Sept. 24, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín rejected the dismissal bid on federal monopolization, attempted-monopolization and tying claims, as well as a California tying theory. The ruling allows those claims to proceed; it did not decide whether the defendants violated the law. The court dismissed a separate Computer Fraud and Abuse Act claim without leave to amend.

The litigation also includes a dispute over message preservation. In a July 28 filing, WP Engine sought sanctions, arguing that relevant communications had not been retained by Automattic and Mullenweg. In its Aug. 12 response, Automattic described a collection exceeding 6 terabytes and a review covering more than 1.5 million documents; it also said five of Mullenweg’s personal devices were forensically imaged. Automattic maintained that its review found no case-related message missing from the collected records. Automattic said its vendor gathered Telegram records beginning in 2012, WhatsApp records beginning in 2015 and Signal records beginning in 2019, with collection extending to March 2026.

The board has not said whether the WP Engine litigation played a role in its decision to put Mullenweg on leave.