Automattic Names Jeremy Klaperman Interim CFO After Executive Departures

The appointment was shared with staff internally on Friday. Klaperman is stepping up from his current role leading finance for the WordPress VIP Enterprise business, and he has held the top finance job at Automattic before, covering for Mark Davies during a sabbatical, according to a Slack post from CEO Matt Mullenweg.

The move follows an attempted ouster of Mullenweg last week that ended with the exit of the board members who voted against him, along with a group of executives. Among those who left was then-CFO Mark Davies, who served briefly as interim chief executive before Mullenweg returned to the position.

Automattic is also filling its top legal post. Mullenweg said in the same post that a candidate for chief legal officer had verbally accepted the job, succeeding Andy Missan, who departed alongside Davies.

A final decision on the permanent CFO is not yet settled. The board, whose new members have not been announced, will still need to weigh both internal and external candidates before making an appointment, Mullenweg wrote.

Davies and Missan had signed reciprocal severance agreements during Mullenweg's 33-hour leave of absence before his return as CEO, according to prior reporting.

"I have 100% confidence in our cash and financial position," Mullenweg's post concluded, adding, "There is still work to do, but everything is within our control and depends only on Automattic's ability to execute."