\n<\/p>\n
Automattic\u2019s interim chief financial officer Jeremy Klaperman<\/a> has left his position after less than a month, TechCrunch has learned. Klaperman had been elevated to the new job last month<\/a> after the governance crisis at the WordPress.com parent company, which saw its entire board either quit or be fired.<\/a><\/p>\n The company confirmed the departure with the following statement, shared by Automattic\u2019s director of communications Megan Fox: \u201cAutomattic will always be grateful for Jeremy Klaperman\u2019s leadership. We wish him the best of luck on his next endeavor.\u201d<\/p>\n Before serving as the organization\u2019s interim finance chief, Klaperman had served as the CFO of Automattic\u2019s VIP Enterprise business unit.\u00a0<\/p>\n He had replaced the former CFO Mark Davies, who had briefly become Automattic\u2019s CFO after the company\u2019s board members voted to put CEO Matt Mullenweg on leave<\/a> in September. Within 33 hours of the board\u2019s decision, Mullenweg retook the CEO role, and the board was wiped clean. <\/p>\n Automattic\u2019s chief legal officer Andy Missan had also left the company alongside Davies. Both executives had signed<\/a> reciprocal severance deals during Mullenweg\u2019s short leave of absence, TechCrunch previously reported. Automattic\u2019s new board of directors was announced<\/a> in late September, and includes\u00a0best-selling science-fiction author Hugh Howey; two co-founders of the now-defunct social app IRL, Henry Khachatryan and Krutal Desai; plus author Amy Chan.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear why Klaperman chose to leave Automattic, but sources told TechCrunch that the decision came after he was demoted back to his original role at VIP. (As an interim CFO, he could have been replaced by a permanent hire, but nothing on that front has yet to be announced.) Automattic\u2019s spokesperson did not comment on the reason for Klaperman\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n When Mullenweg originally announced Klaperman\u2019s new role as interim CFO on Automattic\u2019s Slack, Mullenweg reiterated that he had \u201c100% confidence\u201d in the company\u2019s cash and financial position.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n