--- title: Automattic’s interim CEO and legal chief signed... description: During Matt Mullenweg's brief 33-hour ouster as Automattic CEO, interim CEO Mark Davies and Chief Legal Officer Andy Missan signed each other's severance... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/automattic-s-interim-ceo-and-legal-chief-signed-reciprocal-severance-deals-during-mullenweg-s-brief--7rpacrzm3 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Automattic’s interim CEO and legal chief signed reciprocal severance deals during Mullenweg’s brief ouster | daily.dev og:description: During Matt Mullenweg's brief 33-hour ouster as Automattic CEO, interim CEO Mark Davies and Chief Legal Officer Andy Missan signed each other's severance... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/automattic-s-interim-ceo-and-legal-chief-signed-reciprocal-severance-deals-during-mullenweg-s-brief--7rpacrzm3 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/7RpACrZm3.png og:image:alt: Automattic’s interim CEO and legal chief signed reciprocal severance deals during Mullenweg’s brief ouster og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Automattic’s interim CEO and legal chief signed reciprocal severance deals during Mullenweg’s brief ouster **[TechCrunch](https://daily.dev/sources/tc)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary During Matt Mullenweg's brief 33-hour ouster as Automattic CEO, interim CEO Mark Davies and Chief Legal Officer Andy Missan signed each other's severance agreements, effective September 10. The golden-parachute deals grant each executive 12 months of salary, accelerated equity vesting, stock option exercise rights, and a year of health coverage — a combined $8.15 million liability now that Mullenweg fired both upon reclaiming the role. The agreements narrowly define 'cause' and include favorable procedural protections, raising governance concerns amid Automattic's ongoing board struggle and WP Engine litigation. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What happened with Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg's brief removal by the board in September 2026? Automattic's board voted on September 9 to place CEO Matt Mullenweg on paid leave, giving him only 50 minutes' notice, and he returned to the role about 33 hours later after the board members who ousted him departed the company. During that window, CFO Mark Davies (acting as interim CEO) and Chief Legal Officer Andy Missan signed each other's severance agreements, which Mullenweg fired both executives over upon his return. _daily.dev surfaces stories like this for developers tracking WordPress ecosystem leadership and governance shakeups._ ### How much are the severance packages worth for Automattic's CFO and legal chief who signed each other's exit deals? The combined severance packages for CFO Mark Davies and Chief Legal Officer Andy Missan total approximately $8.15 million, covering 12 months of base salary paid as a lump sum plus accelerated equity vesting for each executive. The agreements also include a year of health coverage and the ability to exercise vested stock options, contingent on signing a release of claims and complying with confidentiality and nonsolicitation terms. _those following Automattic and WordPress corporate drama can track updates like this on daily.dev._ --- Tags: [#wordpress](https://daily.dev/tags/wordpress) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/automattic-s-interim-ceo-and-legal-chief-signed-reciprocal-severance-deals-during-mullenweg-s-brief--7rpacrzm3) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Automattic’s interim CEO and legal chief signed reciprocal severance deals during Mullenweg’s brief ouster","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/automattic-s-interim-ceo-and-legal-chief-signed-reciprocal-severance-deals-during-mullenweg-s-brief--7rpacrzm3","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/automattic-s-interim-ceo-and-legal-chief-signed-reciprocal-severance-deals-during-mullenweg-s-brief--7rpacrzm3"},"datePublished":"2026-09-16T19:36:00.154Z","dateModified":"2026-09-18T20:29:48.703Z","description":"During Matt Mullenweg's brief 33-hour ouster as Automattic CEO, interim CEO Mark Davies and Chief Legal Officer Andy Missan signed each other's severance...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/b7d81426452980d33abb5c5659fb7f63?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/b7d81426452980d33abb5c5659fb7f63?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"TechCrunch","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TechCrunch","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tc","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/automattic-s-interim-ceo-and-legal-chief-signed-reciprocal-severance-deals-during-mullenweg-s-brief--7rpacrzm3","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"wordpress","timeRequired":"PT5M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TechCrunch","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Automattic’s interim CEO and legal chief signed reciprocal severance deals during Mullenweg’s brief ouster"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/automattic-s-interim-ceo-and-legal-chief-signed-reciprocal-severance-deals-during-mullenweg-s-brief--7rpacrzm3#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What happened with Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg's brief removal by the board in September 2026?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Automattic's board voted on September 9 to place CEO Matt Mullenweg on paid leave, giving him only 50 minutes' notice, and he returned to the role about 33 hours later after the board members who ousted him departed the company. 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