Automattic’s founder and CEO, Matt Mullenweg, is widely recognized as the force behind WordPress. The company’s CEO, who is also referred to as ‘com’, has been forced into a leave of absence by the board, against his wishes, as reported by TechCrunch. During the day on Wednesday, Mullenweg posted on a Slack channel accessible to all employees, claiming that the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Mark Davies, had collaborated with other board members – Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker – to vote in favor of putting Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence. The post read:. The most significant update is that I am unable to attend the [meeting] scheduled for tomorrow. Mark Davies, Ann Dunwoody, Toni, and Sue Decker colluded secretly and decided to place me on a paid leave of absence without my knowledge or consent. I cast my vote against it. I wish Mark and everyone else the best. To clear things up, Mark Davies has been chosen as the interim CEO through a vote. I was given the resolution 50 minutes prior to the meeting’s commencement, and continuously requested additional time to have it examined by an independent legal professional, but my request was denied. This message is addressed to the open-source community on Slack, specifically WordPress. The announcement of Mullenweg’s new position at the commercial firm was verified by Mary Hubbard, the project’s executive director, within the organizational community.
