Paddy Cosgrave puts best foot forward as Web Summit co-founder returns to top role

Booming cheers erupted as the event co-founder officially opened 2024 event

Paddy Cosgrave greeted a roaring crowd in Lisbon on Monday evening, marking his first time on the Web Summit stage since last year’s controversy.

Booming cheers erupted in the MEO arena as the event co-founder officially opened Web Summit 2024.

“It’s great to be back,” Cosgrave told a packed arena, celebrating the largest number of startups to ever exhibit at the four-day event.

Known for often straying from the matter at hand, the returning CEO stuck carefully to the script, avoiding the elephant in the room and, instead, emphasising this year’s summits’ many achievements, including a record number of exhibiting startups founded by women.

Despite appearances from several high-profile speakers including musician and producer Pharrell Williams, who spoke shortly after Cosgrave’s opening remarks about the crossover between culture and commerce, founder of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners Lee and whistleblower turned security consultant Chelsea Manning, all eyes will remain on Cosgrave at this year’s summit, with the controversy of last year still lingering throughout.

The chief executive also welcomed his wife, Faye Dinsmore, and his two young boys who have attended this year’s event.

Cosgrave and Web Summit are inseparable from one another, with the CEO remaining the face of the event even throughout his short-lived resignation in the wake of controversial comments he made last year.

Tweeting just days after the October 7th attack, Cosgrave spoke critically of Israel and said he “was shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders and governments.” “War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are,” Cosgrave continued.

The fallout from his remarks was extensive, with the CEO heavily criticised for not immediately sympathising with those killed in Israel, a tech hub where many of Web Summit’s top partners have offices.

The comments led to some of the largest tech giants pulling out just weeks before the event, including Meta, Google, Stripe, Intel, and Siemens along with several high-profile speakers such as US comedian Amy Poehler, actress Gillian Anderson, and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Subsequent resignation

The exodus ultimately led to an apology from Cosgrave and his subsequent resignation, with the co-founder returning to the top job just six months later.

During that period, Cosgrave said he “took the time to reconnect with old Web Sumit peers, and listened to what they had to say on the matter.

Now back in the fold, it seems Cosgrave’s time away has largely paid off, with Meta returning as a Web Summit partner after pulling out last year, along with high-profile speakers and a sold-out event.

With plenty of time remaining for the CEO’s true thoughts on the past 12 months to be laid bare, for now, Cosgrave remains on his best behaviour as he very carefully walks the line.

Industry leaders and lawmakers are also expected to weigh the pros and cons of Donald Trump’s return to the White House this week.

The senior tech executives will join high-ranking officials for debates about the future of artificial intelligence, social media regulation, and the impact a second Trump presidency may have on the continent.

While not expected to attend, tech billionaire and vocal Trump supporter Elon Musk will be a recurring theme, from his role in Ukraine via satellite service Starlink to his success with space exploration firm SpaceX and controversial stewardship of social media platform X, formerly Twitter.