Culture
08 Apr 24

Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave returns six months after resigning

Paddy Cosgrave, co-founder and former CEO of Web Summit, has returned to his post six months after his resignation.

Web Summit co-founder Paddy Cosgrave has reclaimed his position as the company’s chief executive officer six months after resigning from the job due to harsh backlash over his comments on the conflict in Gaza.

“War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies,” the CEO wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in October, referring to Israel's response in Gaza after the October 7th Hamas attacks. Following harsh criticism, Cosgrave made a public apology and resigned from his leading role as numerous companies, including Google and Meta, withdrew from Web Summit’s November conference in Portugal.

I’m shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland’s government, who for once are doing the right thing. War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are.

— Paddy Cosgrave (@paddycosgrave) October 13, 2023

Former Wikimedia Foundation chief executive Katherine Maher took over the top role after Cosgrave's resignation, stepping down last month to become the CEO of National Pubic Radio.

Cosgrave owns a majority stake in Web Summit, which works to arrange one of the world’s largest annual tech conferences in Lisbon, drawing approximately 70,000 participants alongside speakers from leading tech companies and startups around the world.

"When I stepped back last year, it was the first time I had taken time off in 15 years," Cosgrave said in a recent statement. "I took the time to reconnect with old Web Summit friends, and I listened to what they had to say and what they wanted from Web Summit.”

Moving forward, the organisation plans to make its Lisbon conference more community-driven and convivial, currently in the process of testing software to further connect attendees.

"Over the last year we have tested small prototype meetups for attendees in similar industries like product engineers or marketing leads," the company said in a new statement.