Web Summit appoints new CEO after predecessor quit over Israel-Hamas comments

DUBLIN : Web Summit has appointed former Wikimedia Foundation CEO Katherine Maher as chief executive following the resignation of Paddy Cosgrave, whose comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict prompted some companies to withdraw from an upcoming conference.

Cosgrave, who founded Web Summit, resigned as CEO earlier this month, saying his personal comments on the conflict had become a distraction from Web Summit 2023 in Lisbon, one of the world’s largest tech conferences, which is due to start on Nov. 13.

“In recent weeks Web Summit has been at the centre of the conversation, rather than the host. Its purpose was overshadowed by the personal comments of the event’s founder and former CEO, Paddy Cosgrave,” Maher said in a blog post announcing her appointment. “Today Web Summit is entering its next phase.”

Maher led Wikimedia Foundation, the global nonprofit behind Wikipedia, for five years and is chair of messaging platform Signal Messenger, a Web Summit statement said.

Cosgrave drew criticism for a post on social media platform X relating to Israel’s deadly air strikes on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Palestinian militant group Hamas’ mass killings in Israel on Oct. 7, saying “War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies”.

In a later statement, Cosgrove condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault, and said that “what I said, the timing of what I said, and the way it has been presented has caused upset to many”.