Web Summit CEO Resigns After Controversial Remarks About Israel and Hamas Conflict

Paddy Cosgrave steps down as several key sponsors, including Google, Facebook-owner Meta and Intel, pull out of the event over his comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict, less than a month before the Web Summit—the biggest tech conference in Europe—is scheduled to take place.

Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave has resigned after several tech giants, including Google, Facebook's Meta and Intel, pulled out of the conference over his comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict. His resignation comes less than a month before Europe's biggest tech conference is scheduled to take place.
Cosgrave's remarks included suggestions that Israel was committing war crimes in their response to the Hamas attacks. His comments led to strong reactions from tech leaders, venture capitalists, and even prompted a boycott by a coalition of Israeli investors.
Despite apologising for causing 'profound hurt' and stating his belief in peace, Cosgrave’s remarks triggered a flurry of cancellations from attendees, leading to his resignation. The tech CEO highlighted that his comments had become a distraction from the event.
Cosgrave’s resignation comes after a week of increasingly hard-hitting criticism of his remarks about Israel. Key sponsors including Intel, Meta, Siemens and Google were among the big names to pull out of the conference, which annually sees around 70,000 people in attendance.
Despite Cosgrave stepping down, a spokesperson for Web Summit said they will appoint a new CEO as soon as possible and the event is set to go ahead in Lisbon as planned in November.