Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg has installed a new board after surviving an attempted ouster. The previous board voted to put him on paid leave, but he regained control within 33 hours and removed or accepted the resignations of the directors involved. Mullenweg controls 84% of the voting shares, which he used to replace the board.
The new board, announced to staff on Slack, includes "Silo" author Hugh Howey, relationship author Amy Chan, and IRL co-founders Henry Khatachryan and Krutal Desai. IRL shut down after investigations revealed that nearly all of its user base was bots. Mullenweg also added several advisers, including Curio Studio co-founder Jaime Waydo and KISSmetrics co-founder Hiten Shah.
The board never publicly explained its reasons for trying to oust Mullenweg. After returning, he let go of CFO Mark Davies and Chief Legal Officer Andy Missan, and retained Susman Godfrey LLP as new litigation counsel. The changes come as Automattic continues its trademark lawsuit against hosting provider WP Engine.