Automattic has a new board after failed attempt to put CEO on leave
Automattic has a new board after failed attempt to put CEO on leave
在罢免CEO未果后，Automattic 组建了新董事会
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg has rebuilt the company’s board just weeks after its previous directors tried, and failed, to oust him. The board, which was announced to staff Friday, is an eclectic group that includes a best-selling science fiction author and two co-founders of the now-defunct social app IRL, TechCrunch has learned. 在公司前任董事试图罢免他并最终失败仅几周后，Automattic 首席执行官 Matt Mullenweg 重组了公司董事会。据 TechCrunch 获悉，该董事会于周五向员工公布，成员构成多元，包括一位畅销科幻小说作家以及现已倒闭的社交应用 IRL 的两位联合创始人。
The new board is the latest twist in an internal governance fight at Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com, Tumblr, WooCommerce, and others. Earlier this month, the previous board voted to place Mullenweg on leave in an attempt to remove him from the board, only to have the CEO retake control just 33 hours later and remove or accept the resignations of the directors who were involved. 新董事会的成立是 Automattic 内部治理斗争的最新转折。Automattic 是 WordPress.com、Tumblr、WooCommerce 等平台的母公司。本月初，前任董事会投票决定让 Mullenweg 休假，试图将其踢出董事会，但这位 CEO 仅在 33 小时后就夺回了控制权，并解雇了相关董事或接受了他们的辞职。
This week, Mullenweg posted about a board meeting, but didn’t share who he was meeting with. Now, he’s finally informing Automattic employees of the board changes via the company’s announcements channel in Slack. 本周，Mullenweg 发布了关于董事会会议的消息，但并未透露与会人员。现在，他终于通过公司 Slack 的公告频道向 Automattic 员工通报了董事会的人事变动。
Sources told TechCrunch the new Automattic board includes: American writer Hugh Howey, author of the “Silo” book series. (Mullenweg and Howey both hiked along the Camino de Santiago in Spain back in 2018.) “Breakup Bootcamp” author Amy Chan (who recently reposted Mullenweg’s tweet about the company’s AI site builder, Spacefast). IRL co-founder Henry Khatachryan, who Mullenweg described as “a founder and builder,” a longtime collaborator with the late technology writer Om Malik and the website builder of journalist Nick Bilton. And Krutal Desai, who co-founded the social app IRL with Khatachryan. 消息人士告诉 TechCrunch，新的 Automattic 董事会成员包括：美国作家、《羊毛战记》（Silo）系列丛书作者 Hugh Howey（Mullenweg 和 Howey 曾于 2018 年在西班牙共同徒步走过圣地亚哥朝圣之路）；《分手训练营》（Breakup Bootcamp）作者 Amy Chan（她最近转发了 Mullenweg 关于公司 AI 网站构建器 Spacefast 的推文）；IRL 联合创始人 Henry Khatachryan（Mullenweg 将其描述为“创始人兼建设者”，他是已故科技作家 Om Malik 的长期合作伙伴，也是记者 Nick Bilton 的网站构建者）；以及与 Khatachryan 共同创立社交应用 IRL 的 Krutal Desai。
We should note that IRL shut down after investigations revealed that nearly all of its user base was made up of bots. The co-founders, who also included CEO Abraham Shafi, later sued SoftBank and other investors after SoftBank had sued for securities fraud. 值得注意的是，在调查显示 IRL 的用户群几乎全部由机器人组成后，该应用已关闭。包括 CEO Abraham Shafi 在内的联合创始人在软银提起证券欺诈诉讼后，也反诉了软银及其他投资者。
A slew of new advisers have also joined, including Curio Studio co-founder Jaime Waydo, June co-founder Matt Van Horn, and KISSmetrics co-founder Hiten Shah. 此外，还有一批新的顾问加入，包括 Curio Studio 联合创始人 Jaime Waydo、June 联合创始人 Matt Van Horn 以及 KISSmetrics 联合创始人 Hiten Shah。
In the announcement to staff, Mullenweg reportedly wrote that, “for purposes of Delaware law, I am the CEO, President, Treasurer, and Secretary,” adding that the attempted firing had also brought in “many amazing supporters.” “We had the most interesting board meeting in a decade (since the Woo acquisition),” he said. 据报道，Mullenweg 在给员工的公告中写道：“就特拉华州法律而言，我是首席执行官、总裁、财务主管和秘书。”他补充说，这次罢免尝试也为公司带来了“许多了不起的支持者”。他说：“我们召开了十年来（自收购 Woo 以来）最有趣的一次董事会会议。”
Automattic’s original board had voted to put Mullenweg on paid leave, but he took back control of the company, letting go of those involved in what he described on X as a “coup attempt.” To replace the board, Mullenweg leveraged his voting shares — he controls 84% of the vote, he said at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. The period between his departure and return lasted exactly “33 hours and 20 minutes,” Automattic told TechCrunch previously. Automattic 原董事会曾投票决定让 Mullenweg 带薪休假，但他夺回了公司控制权，并解雇了那些参与了他所称的“政变企图”的人（他在 X 上如此描述）。为了更换董事会，Mullenweg 利用了他的投票权——他在 TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 大会上表示，他控制着 84% 的投票权。Automattic 此前告诉 TechCrunch，他离开到回归的时间正好是“33 小时 20 分钟”。
Following the failed board vote, member Toni Schneider, a founding CEO of Automattic and now CEO of Bluesky, resigned from his board position. Mullenweg himself removed Gen. Ann Dunwoody from the board, and board member Sue Decker also resigned. In addition, Mullenweg let go of Automattic CFO Mark Davies, who was slated to become interim CEO, and Chief Legal Officer Andy Missan, TechCrunch confirmed with sources. 在董事会投票失败后，身为 Automattic 创始 CEO、现任 Bluesky CEO 的成员 Toni Schneider 辞去了董事职务。Mullenweg 本人将 Ann Dunwoody 将军从董事会中除名，董事会成员 Sue Decker 也辞职了。此外，TechCrunch 从消息人士处证实，Mullenweg 还解雇了原定担任临时 CEO 的 Automattic 首席财务官 Mark Davies 以及首席法务官 Andy Missan。
The board never publicly shared its reasons for trying to oust Mullenweg. Of note, Mullenweg also replaced Automattic’s legal counsel after his return, a move that raises questions about whether the boardroom fight is tied to the company’s ongoing lawsuit with hosting provider WP Engine over trademark disputes and claims over WP Engine’s lack of contribution to the WordPress open source project. (WP Engine’s legal team had also accused Mullenweg this July of destroying evidence, court filings show.) 董事会从未公开说明试图罢免 Mullenweg 的原因。值得注意的是，Mullenweg 在回归后还更换了 Automattic 的法律顾问，此举引发了人们的质疑：这场董事会斗争是否与该公司目前与托管服务提供商 WP Engine 之间的诉讼有关？该诉讼涉及商标纠纷以及关于 WP Engine 对 WordPress 开源项目贡献不足的指控。（法庭文件显示，WP Engine 的法律团队曾在今年 7 月指控 Mullenweg 销毁证据。）
In an internal message shared after the ousting and return, Mullenweg had acknowledged the chaos it caused, saying: 在罢免和回归后分享的一条内部消息中，Mullenweg 承认了由此造成的混乱，他表示：
“Last week, several board members formed a special committee and voted to place me on a leave of absence. They did this without advance warning and without giving me a meaningful opportunity to understand or respond to their concerns before they acted. I was denied even a brief extension to consult with independent legal counsel. I took the steps necessary to reverse that action. I am back and fully in charge of the company. I am again working alongside you to make our company a success. I also want to share that we have retained Susman Godfrey LLP as our new litigation counsel. Susman Godfrey is one of the top trial firms in the country, and they will be protecting our company’s interests and defending us in our ongoing litigation. I know this past week has been unsettling. I appreciate your patience and your continued focus on the work that matters. I will have more to share soon, but for now, know that Automattic’s mission and priorities remain unchanged.” “上周，几位董事会成员组成了一个特别委员会，投票决定让我休假。他们在没有事先警告的情况下这样做，也没有给我任何有意义的机会去理解或回应他们的担忧。我甚至被拒绝了短暂的延期以咨询独立法律顾问。我采取了必要措施来扭转这一行动。我现在回来了，并完全掌控着公司。我再次与你们并肩工作，让我们的公司取得成功。我还想告诉大家，我们已经聘请了 Susman Godfrey LLP 作为我们新的诉讼顾问。Susman Godfrey 是国内顶尖的审判律师事务所之一，他们将保护我们公司的利益，并在我们正在进行的诉讼中为我们辩护。我知道过去的一周令人不安。感谢你们的耐心和对重要工作的持续关注。我很快会有更多消息分享，但目前请知悉，Automattic 的使命和优先事项保持不变。”