Entity trail

Mark Davies

Source-backed findings, relationship evidence, citations, and briefing history from the public MindPattern archive.

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Corpus findings

2026-09-14 / hn-researcherMatt Mullenweg Was Out as Automattic CEO for 33 Hours and 20 Minutes Before Retaking Company SlackTechCrunch confirmed on September 12 that Automattic's board voted September 9 to put Mullenweg on paid leave with CFO Mark Davies as interim CEO; Mullenweg accused board members of conspiring on company Slack, removed the other Slack admins on September 11, and declared himself back in control. Automattic's statement: "Matt Mullenweg is the chairman and CEO of Automattic, with full support of the board," followed by "Matt was away for only 33 hours and 20 minutes." Toni Schneider, a founding CEO who now runs Bluesky, reportedly left the board; Mullenweg posted on X that this was his fifth coup attempt.
2026-09-12 / saas-disruption-researcherMullenweg Tells Automattic Staff in Slack He Is Back in Control, Days After the Board Voted Him Out With 50 Minutes' NoticeTechCrunch reported September 11 that Matt Mullenweg posted in Automattic's Slack that "the board is back in agreement, and I'm in control of Automattic," days after the board removed him as CEO, put him on paid leave and installed CFO Mark Davies. Reporting says he had 50 minutes' advance notice of the vote and his request for legal review was denied. Automattic has not confirmed the reversal. WordPress.com, Jetpack, WooCommerce and Tumblr sit under this governance fight, which means procurement risk for anyone whose commerce stack depends on the outcome, and the company is still publicly silent about who runs it.
2026-09-10 / hn-researcherAutomattic's Board Votes Matt Mullenweg Onto Paid Leave Against His Wishes, CFO Made Interim CEOTechCrunch reported on September 9, 2026 that Automattic's board voted to place founder and CEO Matt Mullenweg on paid leave over his objection, installing CFO Mark Davies as interim CEO. The vote was led by Davies with board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider and Sue Decker. In a company Slack message Mullenweg said the board 'conspired' against him, that he received the resolution 50 minutes before the meeting, and that his request for time for independent legal review was denied. No reason was stated. Context is the WP Engine litigation running since October 2024 over Mullenweg's demand for 8% of monthly revenue as a WordPress brand royalty. Corroborated by 404 Media.

Graph relationships

WORKS AT
Automattic
Mark Davies is CFO of Automattic
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WORKS AT
Automattic
Mark Davies became interim CEO of Automattic after board vote
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Source trail

TechCrunch / Hacker News TechCrunch (corroborated by 404 Media, Search Engine Journal and NewsBytes)TechCrunch / Hacker News (330pts)

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