Paddy Cosgrave has resigned as CEO of Web Summit, the 14-year-old conference company he cofounded that now hosts four other events worldwide in addition to one of Europe’s largest yearly tech gatherings.
Cosgrave announced his resignation as CEO of Web Summit with immediate effect in a statement given to TechCrunch earlier on Saturday saying, “I am resigning as CEO of Web Summit with immediate effect. Unfortunately, my personal comments have become a distraction from the event, and our team, our sponsors, our startups and the people who attend. I sincerely apologize again for any hurt I have caused.”
The conference planners tell TechCrunch that they will name a new CEO “as soon as possible” and that “Web Summit 2023 in Lisbon will go ahead as planned.”
The action follows a series of comments made by Cosgrave following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 that resulted in 1,400 deaths, the majority of them civilians, and more than 4,000 injuries. These comments sparked outrage from Israelis and a growing number of people in the technology community.
As Israel organised its counterstrike, he first wrote that he was horrified by the words and conduct of “so many Western leaders & governments” as Israel planned counterstrike, and that “war crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are,”
After hearing Cosgrave’s remarks, many entrepreneurs and venture investors vowed never to speak at another Web Summit event.
Cosgrave later issued an apology on the Web Summit website, writing, “I understand that what I said, the timing of what I said, and the way it has been presented has caused profound hurt to many.” This came after Cosgrave came under increasing pressure.
Over the course of three days, more than 70,000 people attended Web Summit the previous year.
