The founder and CEO of Web Summit, one
of the world’s largest technology conferences, has stepped down after his
comments about the Israel-Hamas conflict provoked an online backlash.
Paddy Cosgrove, who has been running
the event since 2009, announced his resignation after his remarks led to a
string of tech companies vowing to boycott the event, including Google and
Meta.
As the search for a new CEO began, the
organises of Web Summit, which typically attracts around 70,000 attendees, confirmed
that next month’s event in Lisbon would still go ahead as planned.
Last week Cosgrove wrote on X that he was
shocked at the ‘rhetoric’ of Western governments in response to Israel's
bombardment of Gaza following the Hamas terrorist attack that killed more than
1,300 people.
"War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and
should be called out for what they are," he wrote, referring to Israel's
wave of attacks on Gaza after the violence committed by Hamas.
But the timing of his post led to a backlash from Web Summit goers, including
Alon Alroy, co-founder of event tech company Bizzabo who
vowed
never to go to the conference again.
As the criticism mounted, Cosgrove posted an apology, 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."
But by then
the damage had been done and on Saturday he announced he was leaving his post ‘with immediate effect’ as ‘my personal comments have
become a distraction from the event, and our team, our sponsors, our start-ups,
and the people who attend’.
