Key facts
- Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg has appointed a new board of directors.
- The previous board attempted to oust Mullenweg by voting to place him on leave.
- Mullenweg regained control of the company after 33 hours.
- Mullenweg controls 84% of the company's voting shares.
- New board members include author Hugh Howey and IRL co-founders Henry Khatachryan and Krutal Desai.
- Automattic has retained Susman Godfrey LLP as new litigation counsel.
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg has appointed a new board of directors, weeks after the company's previous board attempted to remove him. The previous board voted to place Mullenweg on paid leave, but he regained control of the company within 33 hours and subsequently removed or accepted the resignations of the directors involved.
Mullenweg announced the new board to Automattic employees via Slack. The new board includes best-selling science fiction author Hugh Howey, "Breakup Bootcamp" author Amy Chan, and IRL co-founders Henry Khatachryan and Krutal Desai. IRL, a social app co-founded by Khatachryan and Desai, shut down after investigations revealed a significant portion of its user base consisted of bots. Khatachryan and Desai later sued investors, including SoftBank, for securities fraud.
Automattic also added new advisers, including Curio Studio co-founder Jaime Waydo, June co-founder Matt Van Horn, and KISSmetrics co-founder Hiten Shah. Mullenweg stated that he is the CEO, President, Treasurer, and Secretary of Automattic for legal purposes. He described the recent board meeting as "the most interesting board meeting in a decade."
Mullenweg leveraged his 84% voting share control to reconstitute the board. Following the failed vote to oust him, board member Toni Schneider resigned, and Mullenweg removed Gen. Ann Dunwoody. Board member Sue Decker also resigned. Additionally, Mullenweg dismissed CFO Mark Davies and Chief Legal Officer Andy Missan. The reasons for the previous board's attempt to remove Mullenweg were not publicly shared.
Mullenweg also replaced Automattic's legal counsel after his return, appointing Susman Godfrey LLP. This move comes amid the company's ongoing lawsuit with hosting provider WP Engine over trademark disputes and claims regarding WP Engine's contribution to the WordPress open-source project. Court filings from July also show WP Engine's legal team accused Mullenweg of destroying evidence.