Paddy Cosgrave, the CEO and cofounder of annual tech convention Web Summit, has resigned after his feedback on the Israel-Hamas conflict 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 mentioned in an announcement on Saturday.
Earlier, Cosgrave expressd his private 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 mentioned on X. “I will not relent.”
His remarks triggered cancellations from Web Summit attendees like Meta, Alphabet, Amazon and others. This 12 months’s convention is scheduled for Nov. 13 to Nov. 16 in Lisbon, Portugal.
The day after he posted on X, Cosgrave apologized on Web Summit’s weblog. He wrote that the timing of his feedback “caused profound hurt.”
“What is needed at this time is compassion, and I did not convey that,” Cosgrave mentioned.
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