Automattic has a new board after failed attempt to put CEO on leave
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg replaced the company's board with a new group after easily defeating an attempt to oust him using his 84% voting control.
summary is enough The article outlines the corporate reshuffle, while the comment thread features debate on board fiduciary duty and an appearance by the CEO.
summary
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg successfully blocked an attempt by the company's board to place him on leave, leveraging his 84 percent voting control to oust the directors and install a new board. The previous board members faced criticism for allegedly granting themselves generous severance packages right before a doomed ouster attempt. Mullenweg has since hired a top trial firm to handle ongoing litigation and appointed an eclectic mix of new board members and advisors. Meanwhile, the discussion debates whether the board acted out of legitimate concern or executed a cynical payday scheme.
key points
- Mullenweg holds 84% of Automattic's voting shares, making any board-led ouster mathematically doomed to fail.
- The ousted board members voted themselves substantial severance packages during their brief interim attempt to remove the CEO.
- The new board features eclectic figures, including science-fiction author Hugh Howey and co-founders of the defunct bot-driven app IRL.
who should read it
Tech industry professionals and startup founders interested in corporate governance and founder control.
discussion skeptical
consensus
Commenters largely view the ousted board's actions as a cynical golden parachute cash grab, noting that any coup was doomed given the CEO's 84% voting power.
pushback
A minority argues the board had a fiduciary duty to try to remove Mullenweg due to concerns over his public behavior and stability.
Fireship pointed out that the board members gave themselves a generous severance package in the very brief interim, so that was very possibly the whole plan.
It introduces the critical context that the board members gave themselves a generous severance package during their brief interim control.
Generated by an LLM from the article and thread. Check the sources before relying on it.