New Web Summit chief addresses Paddy Cosgrave controversy

Mr Cosgrave sparked outrage among some leading figures in the tech sector after suggesting on social media that Israel was committing war crimes in Gaza.

Katherine Maher, Web Summit CEO

Web Summit’s new chief executive Katherine Maher has used her opening speech at the Lisbon-based tech event to address the controversy that swirled around her predecessor. 

In her opening remarks to 70,000 attendees, Ms Maher spoke about Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave’s social media post that led to a flood of US multinationals backing out of the event in Lisbon.