Paddy Cosgrave, the CEO and co-founder of the annual tech conference Web Summit, has stepped down from his position. His resignation came after his remarks about the Israel-Hamas conflict prompted Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon to withdraw their participation in the event.
In a statement on Saturday, Cosgrave stated, “Unfortunately, my personal comments have become a distraction from the event, and our team, our sponsors, our startups, and the people who attend.”
Previously, Cosgrave expressed his personal opposition to Israel’s actions during the conflict in Gaza on his social media accounts, saying, “To repeat: War crimes are war crimes, even when committed by allies & should be called out for what they are. I will not relent.”
His comments led to the withdrawal of prominent attendees like Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, and several others from the upcoming Web Summit, which is set to take place from November 13 to November 16 in Lisbon, Portugal. the annual tech
The day following his remarks on X, Cosgrave issued an apology on Web Summit’s blog. He acknowledged that the timing of his comments had caused significant distress, stating, “What is needed at this time is compassion, and I did not convey that.”