Last Monday, Mary Hubbard wrote her first P2 message announcing her one-hour Q&A call on Friday. The Zoom event was announced on the Make WordPress Slack channel, and 82 people showed up, including Matt Mullenweg.
Something I wasn’t prepared for was the format of the meeting, which was an open Q&A where anyone could freely ask questions or make comments in the chat.
Most of the questions were directed at Mary, but Matt also chimed in on some points, especially toward the end of the call. I’ll return to this a bit later.
Many of the initial questions for Mary focused on uncovering her connection to WordPress and her professional interests, as people were unsure of her background.
“I’m a product person by trade and by nature”
Before joining WordPress as Executive Director, Mary worked at TikTok Americas, a platform known for its own reputation challenges and difficulties. Prior to TikTok, she emphasized that she had worked directly with Matt Mullenweg at Automattic for three years, highlighting her familiarity with the project overall.
Her focus has been on the product side, and Mary mentioned that she views things from a product delivery and go-to-market perspective, while also approaching work in an agile format. Although Mary is not an engineer, she expressed interest in being involved in the upcoming Core releases, as the release squad has already extended an invitation.
Later in the discussion, Mary emphasized the importance of clearly defining the different phases of the roadmap to ensure the entire community understands the direction of the product and Gutenberg’s development.
Francesca Marano from XWP supported this initiative saying, “At this point, the project is so big that it definitely needs project and product management. A roadmap will also be very welcome.”
Regarding her public presence, Mary mentioned she hasn’t been that visible and that she will need to make an effort to change that. You can see her new Mary.blog domain or look her up on Bluesky where she will be joining other WordPress users. She mentioned that she prefers to lead from behind and is currently focused on supporting the Make WordPress teams. (For those curious, the meaning behind her @4thhubbard username on WordPress.org stems from her being the fourth child in her family.)
This was one of my favorite questions, and I believe her answers effectively highlighted some of the most significant challenges WordPress has been facing for quite some time.
Here, Mary addressed the decline in the number of new attendees at events. She noted that, despite an increase in the number of WordCamp events, there has been a significant drop in first-time attendees.
The second point she raised was the need to bring clarity around commercialization and how the community fits into this aspect. Mary also emphasized the importance of establishing clear guardrails to ensure transparency about what the WordPress project represents, the role of the WordPress Foundation, what actions are being taken, and how they are being implemented – a topic that I believe everyone is eager to see addressed.
The third point she mentioned was the stagnation of innovation. She hinted at challenges faced by newcomers joining the contributor forums, highlighting the barriers that may be discouraging fresh participation and ideas.
“I don’t want it to be rough for people who come into the community. I want it to be inviting and exciting, and I want them to have short and quick wins, feel confident and embraced in this.”
To the question of what her primary responsibilities will be, Mary was not very specific but made a clear point:
“I think community will be one of my focal points. Obviously, it’s hurt, and we have a lot to do.”
Mary acknowledged that the WordPress community is feeling alienated and even went a step further by apologizing for it. I was quite surprised to hear her say this, considering she only joined WordPress in October and had no involvement in the recent controversies and drama. This demonstrates her willingness to take accountability in her new role, which is a very encouraging sign.
Matt also made an effort to reconcile things toward the end of the discussion, emphasizing that his ultimate goal is to do what’s best for users and the community. He noted that “we should not shy away from conflict” but instead engage in debates over ideas and, ultimately, shake hands afterward.
Staying true to her promise for open communication, Mary encouraged anyone who wants to contact her to ping her on the Make WordPress Slack or email her at [email protected]. Mary will be joining the State of the Word in Tokio in December and will be (potentially?) attending WordCamp Asia in the Philippines.
Some of Mary’s views are available on Entrepreneur.com where her latest article talks about how to overcome resistance to change in an organization.
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