Paddy Cosgrave returns to Web Summit as CEO: Know more

Web Summit is a platform that hosts an annual technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal. 

In October 2023, the platform hired Katherine Maher as its new CEO after Paddy Cosgrave, the co-founder of Web Summit, received criticism for accusing Israel of committing war crimes and breaching international law following the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7.

However, Cosgrave, announced on Monday that he is returning as a CEO.

“When I stepped back last year, it was the first time I had taken time off in 15 years. It gave me time to think about Web Summit, its history, why I started it on my own from my bedroom, and what I wanted it to be,” says Cosgrave. 

“I took the time to reconnect with old Web Summit friends and I listened to what they had to say and what they wanted from Web Summit. Some incredible tech advancements, relationships, partnerships, and companies have grown from our events and I want to continue building on this. If anything I want to supercharge this mission even further to build even stronger communities within Web Summit,” adds Cosgrave. 

Web Summit: Largest tech events

Web Summit runs the world’s largest technology events, connecting people and ideas that change the world. 

In the years since 2009, Web Summit has grown from a 150-person conference in Dublin to a global event series gathering more than 140,000 attendees every year from all over the world. 

Since 2009, Web Summit has grown its team to over 340 people. 

Its headquarters are located in Dublin, Ireland, and it also has offices in Portugal, Canada, Qatar, Brazil, and many other locations around the globe. 

The team is composed of engineers, developers, producers, designers, marketers, and salespeople who collaborate to create global events.

Web Summit aims to produce world-class technology festivals in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and the Middle East. Each event showcases the unique characteristics of its location while still maintaining the successful framework developed over the years.

The events have gathered half a million people across Web Summit in Europe, Web Summit Rio in South America, Collision in North America, Web Summit Qatar in the Middle East, and RISE in Asia.