Web Summit Co-Founders Call on Ousted CEO Cosgrave to Give Up His Stake
Pressure is mounting on Europe’s largest tech conference to cut all ties with Paddy Cosgrave.
Paddy Cosgrave during the Collision conference in Toronto, Canada, on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.
Photographer: Chloe Ellingson/BloombergThe co-founders of Web Summit, Europe’s largest technology conference, are calling on ousted Chief Executive Officer Paddy Cosgrave to sell his majority stake in its parent company after a firestorm over his remarks on social media about Israel.
David Kelly and Daire Hickey, who are the only other shareholders in Web Summit’s holding company, wrote to the board arguing Cosgrave's continued ownership puts the future of the business at risk, according to a person familiar with the matter. Kelly and Hickey asked the board to pursue all options, including a possible sale, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the letter was not public.