Paddy Cosgrave returns to Web Summit after resigning over Israel criticism
Al Jazeera
Cosgrave resigned as CEO in October after backlash to post accusing Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza.
The co-founder of one of the world’s largest tech conferences has returned as chief executive six months after stepping down amid a backlash over comments he made criticising Israel.
Paddy Cosgrave said on Monday that being away from the annual Web Summit had given him time to think about the event and “why I started it on my own from my bedroom and what I wanted it to be”.
“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,” Cosgrave said in a post on X.
“Some incredible tech advancements, relationships, partnerships, and companies have grown from our events and I want to continue building on this. If anything I want to supercharge this mission even further to build even stronger communities within Web Summit.”
Cosgrave said he hoped to make the summit more intimate and community-focused in future.