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Paddy Cosgrave, co-founder and CEO of WebSummit, an annual technology conference, has resigned after coming under fire for his comments about the Israel-Hamas war. Leading Tech guests. alphabet, meta and Amazon To cancel attendance.
“Unfortunately, my personal comments came in the way of the event and our teams, sponsors, startups and participants,” Cosgrave said in a statement Saturday.
Earlier in the week, Mr. Cosgrave took to social media to voice his personal opposition to Israel’s counterattack in Gaza.
“Again, war crimes are war crimes even if committed by allies and should be condemned for what they are,” Cosgrave said. Posted on Monday’s X, formerly known as Twitter. “I will show no mercy.”
His comments led to a series of cancellations from high-profile participants, including Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon. This year’s conference is scheduled for November 13th to November 16th and will be held in Lisbon, Portugal.
The day after posting on X, Cosgrave wrote: apology He said on the WebSummit blog that he understands the timing of his comments “caused deep hurt.”
“What is needed at this time is compassion, and I did not convey that,” Cosgrave said in his apology.
