Toni Schneider & Automattic CEO

Eight years and one day ago I blogged about Toni Schneider joining Automattic as CEO, as I said then:

I first met Toni shortly after I moved to San Francisco and I’ve wanted him to be a part of Automattic pretty much since the idea first entered my mind. We’ve spent many long meals over the past year discussing the Automattic idea before it even had a name. I’ve been on cloud nine since (somehow) I convinced him to leave the incredibly cushy corporate job and rough it out in startup world again. I’m very very excited about some of the things coming down the line.

Fast-forward roughly two thousand, nine hundred, and twenty-two days and I’m still on cloud nine and love working together with Toni. We have been through some incredible ups and downs in people, valuation, been on both sides of the table for acquisitions, and seen dozens of competitors come, go, and come again as the hyperactive tech news cycle loops back around.

Today we’re announcing publicly that Toni and I are switching jobs — he’s going to focus on some of Automattic’s new products, and I’m going to take on the role of CEO. Internally this isn’t a big change as our roles have always been quite fluid, and I’ve had some recent practice filling in for him for a few months last year when he was on sabbatical. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from Toni over the years and I’m looking forward to putting that into practice.

Besides, it’s obvious that no one in their twenties should run a company. They think they know everything, a fact I can now say with complete confidence now that I’m 30 and two days old.

See also: Toni Scheider’s post, Om Malik, Tony Conrad.

42 thoughts on “Toni Schneider & Automattic CEO

  1. This proves it… get mistaken for CEO, and eventually you become CEO. 🙂 Congrats to you guys. You’ve built an incredible company and no doubt this change will serve the world well.

  2. Congratulations. Becoming CEO of your company is a great birthday gift for turning 30. Good luck to both of you. The great thing is you can easily switch places when you’d like a change.
    Peace,
    Alexandria Sage

  3. I remember the original article as that was a few years after I began working with the self hosted WordPress framework early in my web design career – 10 years later and 53 years old and my partner (son) who is 29 thinks I shouldn’t run our company. 🙂

    Congratulations to both of you and happy belated Bday Matt!!

  4. Congratulations, Matt. I recall celebrating your 25th birthday with you when you attended a WordCamp event in Las Vegas. Time flies and WordPress/Automattic have evolved into great offerings.

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