Paddy Cosgrave, the CEO and cofounder of annual tech conference Web Summit, has resigned after his comments on the Israel-Hamas war led Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon to cancel their participation.
“Unfortunately, my personal comments have become a distraction from the event, and our team, our sponsors, our startups and the people who attend,” Cosgrave said in a statement on Saturday.
Earlier, Cosgrave expressd his personal opposition to Israel’s counterattacks in Gaza on his social media accounts.
“To repeat: War crimes are war crimes, even when committed by allies & should be called out for what they are,” Cosgrave said on X. “I will not relent.”
His remarks triggered cancellations from Web Summit attendees like Meta, Alphabet, Amazon and others. This year’s conference is scheduled for Nov. 13 to Nov. 16 in Lisbon, Portugal.
The day after he posted on X, Cosgrave apologized on Web Summit’s blog. He wrote that the timing of his comments “caused profound hurt.”
“What is needed at this time is compassion, and I did not convey that,” Cosgrave said.
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