# Mullenweg says he is reinstated as Automattic CEO two days after board leave

_Friday, September 11, 2026 at 1:16 PM EDT · Products · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![Mullenweg says he is reinstated as Automattic CEO two days after board leave — Primary](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/gettyimages-2181956675.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.699286964525%2C100%2C78.601426070949&w=1200)

Matt Mullenweg said he has been reinstated as Automattic CEO, two days after the board placed him on a paid leave of absence and named CFO Mark Davies interim CEO, according to a Slack message seen by TechCrunch.

WordPress Executive Director Mary Hubbard confirmed the return in a Friday post on X that the official WordPress account shared and Mullenweg reposted. Mullenweg wrote that the board is "back in agreement" and that he is "in control of Automattic." TechCrunch reported Davies' Slack account was deactivated and that Mullenweg removed all admins from Automattic's Slack. Automattic owns WordPress.com, Tumblr and Beeper.

## Sources

- [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/tech/994087/matt-mullenweg-automattic-ceo-return)

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Retrieved: 2026-09-12T04:09:08.206Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)