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Automattic has a new board after failed attempt to put CEO on leave

148 points · 194 comments · ilamont

  1. xnx · · focus · HN ↗
    Fireship pointed out that the board members gave themselves a generous severance package in the very brief interim, so that was very possibly the whole plan.
    1. kingstnap · · focus · HN ↗
      Bizzare self dealing.

      Vote out dude who has 84% shareholder control.

      Immediately sign yourself a golden parachute deal for 8 million right before getting fired the next day.

      Seems like complete breach of fiduciary duty.

      1. hn_throwaway_99 · · focus · HN ↗
        Can you tell me where you see Matt has 84% voting control?

        I thought the reporting on this (at least in TechCrunch) was downright bizarre. The only thing that ever mattered was who had voting control, and I couldn't see anywhere that this was reported in TechCrunch. I can't even fathom how the other board members thought they could oust Matt if he had majority control. None of this makes any sense to me.

        Edit: I see the 84% number further down in the article. Still, that makes this make even less sense to me. How could the other board members vote out Matt as CEO with only a minority vote?

        1. runjake · · focus · HN ↗
          It makes a lot of sense when you see their severance package. I’m going with the hypothesis this was the whole point.
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