The revolving door at Automattic just spun again.
Jeremy Klaperman has officially stepped down as interim CFO of Automattic less than a month after stepping into the role. If you’re getting major 'main character energy' from all the chaos at the WordPress parent company, it’s for good reason. Klaperman’s exit comes right on the heels of a total boardroom meltdown where the entire board was either pushed out or dipped on their own.
The backstory
Klaperman didn't just walk into this job on a whim. He was moved up from his role as CFO of Automattic’s VIP Enterprise unit after the previous CFO, Mark Davies, hit the exit. Davies had only taken the reins during a wild 33-hour stretch in September when CEO Matt Mullenweg was briefly put on leave by the board. By the time the dust settled, Mullenweg was back as CEO, the board had been completely wiped, and executives like Davies and chief legal officer Andy Missan were out the door.
Ok, but why should you care?
While Automattic is keeping the reason for the exit lowkey—with director of communications Megan Fox simply stating the company is "grateful" for his leadership—the plot thickens. Sources are saying Klaperman’s departure followed a demotion back to his old job at the VIP unit. It’s giving classic internal office drama, and it leaves the company without a clear financial lead after Mullenweg previously insisted he had "100% confidence" in the firm's financial position.
Automattic has already brought in a new board that includes sci-fi author Hugh Howey and the co-founders of the now-defunct app IRL, Henry Khachatryan and Krutal Desai.
Why it matters
When a company’s leadership changes this frequently, it’s a massive L for stability. It’s hard to build momentum or innovate when the C-suite is essentially playing musical chairs, and for users relying on the infrastructure behind a massive chunk of the internet, the vibes are definitely off.
